Naruto of the Nerima Wrecking Crew
by erickmenk
Summary: RanmaNaruto xover. Two years before the genin exam, Naruto was chased out of the village only to be saved by a pigtailed stranger. Two years later, he came back, bringing along Nerima's superpowered members.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I do not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2. Really.**

**RANMA-NARUTO XOVER**

**PROLOGUE **

**CASE NUMBER 66928: The Uzumaki Incid**ent

_At the eve of the 9th Annual Festival of Kyuubi no Kitsune's Demise, a large portion of civilians, as well as a couple of chunnins had cornered and attempted to terminate the demon vessel Uzumaki Naruto. The 'Festival Incident' begun approximately 8:00 in the evening when a few civilians spotted the said boy in an alley near the center of town. After alerting several others of the boy's presence, a mob escalated and went after the boy, who immediately tried to leave the scene but was chased eagerly by the rioters. _

_They were able to corner him at least three times and they managed to inflict several wounds and severe beating before he managed to escape again. The chase went through all the way to the southern edge of the village. By the time Jounins arrived at the scene, most of the mob had already dispersed and the only trace of the boy found was a small puddle of blood by the river's edge. Four squads had been immediately dispatched to look for the boy as the remaining squad went to report to the Hokage. _

_Uzumaki was found by squad 3 and 4 three hours later several miles down river in the care of a young man, between 15 to 17 years of age, with raven black hair in a pigtail, wearing a red silk shirt and black baggy pants. A battle ensued when the young man refused to hand over the boy. _

_Half an hour later, squad 1 and 2 arrived at the scene to find a decimated battlefield with all members of squad 3 and four defeated. According to reports, the young man was a taijutsu specialist and was said to have transformed into a redheaded girl upon contact with water base attacks._

_Further search for both Uzumaki Naruto and the young man proved fruitless. _

-------------------------

**HOKAGE TOWER**

The Sandaime Hokage sighed once more as he finished reading the official report of the jounin leader in-charged of getting back Naruto. The report was already two years old, but he can't help read it again and again everytime he is reminded of the young energetic blonde boy he had tried to look after ever since the Kyuubi's imprisonment within the said blond. It is just one of the many reminders of his failures, to the boy, to his deceased friend, and to himself.

He stood up and walked towards the large glass window behind his desk. It has a grand view of the village. He could see that the festival was still at full swing. By the looks of things, the celebration was even bigger than last year's, and he knew exactly why. This time, they are celebrating not only the defeat of the Kyuubi but also the demise of its vessel. The old man gave a frown at this. He felt quite ashamed at the bigotry and narrow-mindedness of most of the villagers. Didn't they know that they all owe their lives to the boy and the boy's family? His father sacrificed himself to seal the demon inside his own son. Just by existing, he was keeping the demon fox at bay? If there is anyone worthy to be praised as a hero, it would be Naruto and his departed family.

The old man sighed once more, feeling his age more than ever as he looked up at the Hokage monument, particularly at the face of the Forth. _"Arashi, I know I've failed you, but please allow me to make amends when, not if, when Naruto finally comes back."_

The Hokage knew there wasn't any assurances that Naruto would be coming back except for the note he left with a promise to return home. He refused to believe that the boy would break his promise, particularly to Hyuuga Hinata, the only friend his own age Naruto ever had. The brat had never back out from his words before, and the Hokage believed that he wouldn't this time.

He gave one last glance at the Yondaime's face before his saw the time at a wall clock near the door. It read '5:30' in the afternoon. Then he said to himself, "I guess I better go now. Wouldn't want to be too late." He then told his secretary that he was stepping out and then left the office.

------------------------------------------

**TRAINING FIELD 7**

She moved gracefully through her kata with her eyes closed. Each movement was done so precisely without missing a single beat that it seems more like she was performing a very exotic dance. But despite the fluid motions of her body, almost bordering on tranquility, her mind is another mater altogether.

It was the annual celebration of Kyuubi's death once more. She had dreaded this day for the past two years, and now that it was that time of the year once more, she almost convince herself that she hated it. But then again, she was Hyuuga Hinata, she don't do hate. No, she was too softhearted for that.

As soon as she finished her kata, she immediately started on a new one. The new kata involved several complex body movements and combination that would need full use of every muscle on her body, ensuring that her entire body has a thorough workout, and deliberately doing it in such a slow motion serves as a great balance practice.

Barely two years ago, she didn't even know what Tai Chi Quan is, only that it was a form of martial arts that serves as a sure fire way of calming down. And Ryouga-san was right. Ever since she started practicing Tai Chi, she had started to feel more at ease with herself. This style requires flexibility, coordination, and most of all, patience of both mind and body, merely because the movements require to be made in slow motion to gain maximum efficiency of tranquility offered by this style.

To anybody else, it would seem like she was merely stretching her body in a ridiculously slow and graceful manner. But she found out that when combined with her own family's Jyuuken style, Tai Chi Quan could be quite damaging, if not outright deadly. When Ryouga-san first told her the secret of how to combine both the Jyuuken and Tai Chi, she thought he was merely exaggerating, that is until she accidentally put one of her classmates in the hospital after a sparring class at the ninja academy. She felt herself lucky that Kiba didn't hate her outright for fracturing two of his ribs, and instead, praised her for getting a good hit through. Despite the dreaded feeling of guilt that haunted her for the rest of the week, she could proudly say that Inuzuka Kiba, as well as his pet Akamaru, had been placed on her very short list of friends.

She started a new set of kata once more. Once she was finished, she jumped off the huge log she was training on and went over to get her jacket under a nearby tree. For a moment, she contemplated if she would wear it or just simply go to town with what she's wearing now. She wouldn't say it was indecent but the black sleeveless shirt, lavender short, and long-sleeved fishnet shirt is a little less than what she was used to when going through town, or anywhere else in public for that mater. She is, after all, starting to develop those things that clearly state her feminine attributes, her chest for example, which were already bordering as a B-cup. She blushed furiously at the thought of Naruto noticing that about her once he comes back.

Putting on her coat immediately, she walked towards one of the target log at the farthest corner of Training Ground 7. "Naruto-kun." She whispered softly to herself as she let her fingers traced the dents on the log made by kunais and other ninja throwing projectiles over the years. This was the same log that Naruto had used to spend countless hours perfecting his kunai-throwing skills. And just behind a large group of bushes a few meters away is the very same spot where she used to hide while watching him train himself into exhaustion.

When she first saw the loud blond haired boy at the academy, she didn't saw anything special about him. He was loud, rude, and sometimes quite stupid. But when she accidentally found him practicing alone in this very same training ground, she saw a determination in him that she never saw in anyone else in her life. Through observation, she got to know quite a lot about him and the way the other villagers treated him. But despite all the mistreatment almost bordering on abuse, he still kept going. He never let anything keep him down for long. For that she admire him. Soon after that, she started to feel something more for the obnoxious loudmouth.

She could clearly remember when she and Naruto had officially became friends, and it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for a cute black piglet named P-chan.

-----**_FLASHBACK (3 months before the Incident)_**-----

Hinata was currently walking through the market place heading towards Naruto's training ground when she herd one of the shop owners, a meat butcher by the looks of it, running around at top speed while shouting, "Here piggy-piggy-piggy! You can't escape me for long!" followed by a loud, "Bweeeee!"

A few seconds later, she saw a small black piglet wearing a black and yellow bandanna on its neck running away from the said stout, bearded, greasy-apron-wearing butcher chasing it.

Seeing the poor little animal terrified like that, Hinata immediately turn towards the corner and when the piglet was running pass by her, she immediately scoop the little guy and jumped into a narrow alleyway to get away from the butcher without being seen.

As soon as they were a couple of blocks away from there, she turned to the still trembling piglet in her arms and cooed, "There, there, little guy. You're safe now." It took a few minutes before she felt the piglet stop trembling in her arms. When she finally went to take a good look at it, she didn't see anything special about it, it just seems like your ordinary everyday piglet, that is, until she turned her sights on the animal's eyes.

If she didn't know any better, she would have believed that this cute little black piglet is a Summon, because only summons could express human-like expressions through their eyes. She tried to feel any difference in chakra from it and she knew that it wasn't. But if that's the case, how could this little guy express such a profound gratitude from its eyes alone? Besides, how many piglets out there have green hues in their black eyes?

"Are you someone's pet, little one?" She asked calmly to the piglet, feeling a bit foolish thinking that it would even understand her. She almost squealed in surprised when the little pig shook its head in negative.

She looked at it closer, but there were no traces of it being a human using a _henge_. Not a Summon either. The scarf on its neck indicates that it might be someone's pet but the piglet had answered no.

"Are you sure you're not someone's pet, girl?" she asked again, preparing herself if it would answer her again. And it did. It shook its head in negative and look at her with its almost human-like eyes before squealing, "Bwee! Bwee! Bweeeeee!"

She seems to have offended it somehow. Thinking back her earlier question, it took a few seconds before she finally realized what she said that offended it. She looked at him again and asked, "Um, are you a boy then?" To her surprise, the piglet nodded its, or rather his head in affirmative.

Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she finally put the little guy down on the ground and said, "Well, I better be going now. Try to avoid the market place again, okay." And then she started to walk away. She was already a bit late as it is to stalk, er, observed her Naruto-kun.

She hadn't been walking for more than ten seconds when there was a sudden piggy squeal behind her causing her to turn around. As soon as she did, she saw the piglet running towards her at top speed. Hinata caught him automatically in her arms when it jumped towards her. Looking at its eyes, she saw it trying to relay a message to her that she couldn't understand. "Um, do you want to come with me, Mr. Piglet?" she sasked as a shot in the dark. She knew that she nailed it right when it nodded its head furiously before squealing happily.

-----**_END_** **_FLASHBACK _**-----

Before she even realize it, she was holding on to her own yellow-and-black tiger-stripped scarf, reminiscing about her time having a cute little black piglet, which she had named P-chan, as a pet. She remembered how inseparable she and P-chan had become after that day. He had been her constant companion, someone she could actually talk to. And despite the fact that the little piglet couldn't talk back, she was sure he understood every word she said by means of either nodding or shaking its head. She took him everywhere she goes, except for those few hours when he just seem to disappear. It was also a bit funny that she had to carry him every where since P-chan had the tendency to get lost easily.

Yes, P-chan could sometimes be too smart for a pig. It was also because of him that she was able, or rather, forced to befriend her long-time crush earlier than anticipated.

-----**_FLASHBACK (Two and a half months before the Incident)_**-----

Hinata, along with her trusted sidekick, P-chan, was once again doing their favorite pass-time, watching a certain blond boy train himself in the woods. Well, it was actually Hinata's favorite pass-time. P-chan, on the other hand, was getting quite frustrated at having his temporary owner hiding herself from the said blond boy. If he ever hear her say the words, 'This time, I'm finally going to talk to Naruto-kun' one more time, he was sure he was going to flip.

"This time, for sure, I'll be able to greet him." Hinata whispered soft enough that it was only she and P-chan could hear.

'Hmm. Close enough.' Thought P-chan to himself as he jumped off Hinata's jacket and went behind her.

Hinata was too busy staring at her Naruto-kun that she didn't even notice her pet until P-chan bit her on the ankle, causing a loud 'eep!' from her mouth before she was able to stop herself.

"Who's there?" Naruto shouted, ready to fling his rusted kunai at the tall bushes Hinata was hiding at.

Hinata decided to run for it, but P-chan immediately got in her way, causing her to fall flat on her face. She pushed herself up and was about to run once more, but then she suddenly found her escape path blocked by a blond boy, who was squatting in front of her. She could feel herself blush furiously when she saw him staring at her with a confused, but extremely cute, expression. "G-gomen . . ."

He stared at her some more, making her even more nervous. But the looks of it, he was thinking quite hard. She was about to apologize once more when he suddenly clicked his fingers and said cheerfully, "You're Hinata, right? Hyuuga Hinata? We're in the same class!"

"Um, h-hai." She stuttered softly that he almost didn't hear.

"Bweeee! Bwee! Bweeeee!" came the impatient squeal from P-chan who was standing beside them.

For a moment, both kids just look at the piglet. Then, Naruto suddenly shouted, "DINNER!" and jumped towards the piglet, who was a bit shock at the outburst that he just stood there, stunned.

In a rush of panic, Hinata immediately came to her feet, rushed over to them, and grabbed P-chan in her arms before Naruto could get his hands on him, causing the said blond boy to fall flat on his face on the ground.

Mortified at what she had done, to her Naruto-kun no less, she immediately stuttered an apology. "G-gomen, N-Naruto-kun! P-chan w-was j-j-just . . ."

"P-chan?" Naruto said instantly, looking at the little piglet at the girl's arm squealing indignantly at him. "You mean, he was you're pet?" he asked innocently.

"Um, ah, y-yes."

"Oh!" This time, Naruto had a blush on his face as well as he pushed himself off the ground. "Sorry. Just been a while since I've eaten, er, I mean, I thought he was a stray or something. Yeah, that's right! I thought he was a stray and I've always wanted to have a pet like that! I mean, I wasn't even thinking of eating it, really!" he said loudly, scratching behind his head, smiling at her.

P-chan didn't believed him one bit, neither did Hinata. But she just couldn't help but giggle at the way he tried to cover it up. Then, looking closely at him, she felt something wrong with his smile. But she immediately put it out of her head as she tried to tell, or better yet, stutter a proper introduction to him for herself and her pet P-chan.

-----**_END FLASHBACK_**-----

She never felt happier after she finally managed to become friends with her Naruto-kun that day. They started hanging out at the academy as well as sparring at the very same training ground they first met in. Sometimes, they also get to hang out with Iruka-sensei and the Sandaime Hokage, the only other people besides her that seems to acknowledge Naruto. Even P-chan managed to warm-up to the blond boy a week after the 'dinner' comment.

But like all friendships, there would always be things you'll get to learn about your friends, or those that associates with them, that aren't too pleasant. Being friends with Naruto allowed her to see how cruel most of the villagers of Konohagakure could be. She saw how they mistreat him, shunned him, call him names behind his back. She saw how the grown-ups warn their children to stay away from him, never giving him a chance to make anymore friends. There was even that one time when a storekeeper told her to stay away from him, calling him a bad influence and a demon brat. The storekeeper almost had a heart attack when she directed a glare with so much killing intent at his direction. She didn't even realize she had activated her Byakugan without the help of any hand seals, and was glad that Naruto wasn't there at the time. Since then, the storekeeper never mistreated Naruto whenever she was with him in fear of her, despite the fact that she didn't even realize that the storekeeper was afraid of shy, timid Hinata.

Despite their cruelty, Naruto took it all in stride, never letting his cheerful nature waiver even slightly, especially in her presence, always telling her that they'll change their attitudes towards him once he becomes Hokage. She thought he was invincible, but the more she got to know him, the more she realize that his cheerfulness was nothing more than a mask, a mask so well crafted that it took her a month to even know it's there.

Since then, she worked harder to get to know the real Naruto, the person hidden behind the mask of cheerfulness and smiles. But every time she came close, he would always retreat back into himself, hiding behind those fake smiles of his. But eventually, she made progress. Little by little, Naruto started showing his true self, although rarely, usually when he thought she hadn't notice. But she did, and when those rare moments happen, it endeared him more to her. She knows that with time and patience, she would be able to see the real Naruto.

But then, fate intervened. The _'Festival Incident' _happened. She had cried for days. She was so devastated that she didn't even noticed that P-chan had disappeared a day after Naruto was reported missing. When she went looking for her pet piglet, she couldn't find him anywhere. She had cried for him as well. She wouldn't have been able to bare such grief of losing two of her most precious persons if it wasn't for that young stranger who suddenly showed up a few days after P-chan's disappearance.

-----**_FLASHBACK (2 weeks after the Festival Incident)_**-----

Hinata was crying again. After searching through the village for the nth time, and she still can't find any traces of P-chan. And now, here she is, at Naruto's favorite training ground, crying her eyes out.

She haven't been there long when she felt a presence behind her. Turning around, she saw a young man, probably 16 to 18 years of age, distinguishable fangs, wearing a yellow shirt, green baggy pants, a huge travelling pack with a red bamboo umbrella, with unruly black hair. The two most significant feature he has were his emerald green eyes and the very familiar yellow-and-black tiger-stripped bandanna on his forehead, almost identical to the one P-chan always wear.

"Hello, Hinata-chan." Said the man with a sadness she couldn't explain.

"H-hello." She said timidly. He was a stranger, but for some reason, she doesn't seem to feel any reason to distrust him. "Um, d-do I know you?" she asked, trying to hide her sniffling, and failing miserably.

"You . . . could say that I got to know you through my friend." He said hesitantly, giving her a nervous chuckle. "Anyway, my name is Hibiki Ryouga. I, um, well, you see, your pet pig . . ."

"You mean P-chan?" She asked immediately, hope rising in her chest. "Where is he? Is he safe? Please, tell me!"

"Um, yeah, P-chan. He's sort of my, um, familiar. And he told me quite a lot of things about you."

Thinking about it, this young man being able to communicate with a piglet wouldn't sound that farfetched, especially since P-chan is his familiar. Come to think of it, some other clans, like the Inuzuka for example, have the ability to understand their pets. But then, P-chan still left her all alone. "G-Gomen. I-I know he h-hates me n-now s-since I n-neglected him for a while. B-but," She started to say.

But Ryouga immediately cut her off and said, "No, no! You've got it all wrong. I, er, I mean, P-chan doesn't hate you! He would never hate you!" He knelt down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders so he could stare directly at her tear-stricken eyes before saying with as much conviction to her, "Believe me, the last thing he would ever do is hate you. He just went to get me so we could look for Naruto."

Hope swelled up inside her once more as she asked, "D-did you find Naruto-kun? Is-is he safe?"

Ryouga gave him a fanged smile as he said, "Yes, I found him. Well, at least a friend of mine did. And for the moment, he's quite safe."

"Really? W-where is he then? Is he coming back?"

Shadows instantly covered his eyes. Fearing the worst, she was just about to ask him what had happened when the young man said suddenly, "Hinata-chan, I know that this might be a bit hard for you but I don't think it's safe for Naruto to go back to this village yet."

"W-why?" she asked, almost fearful of his answer.

Seeing the young girl in the verge of tears once more, Ryouga immediately reassured her and said, "Don't worry. Naruto is perfectly safe at the moment. In fact," He then took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to the distressed Hyuuga heiress and said, "he asked me to give this to you."

Opening the envelope, she found two notes and a rusted key inside. She opened the note and felt a great deal of relief upon recognizing the handwriting. It was from her Naruto-kun and it says:

_Hey Hinata-chan,_

_Just wanted to tell you first that I'm alright. Ranma-nii-chan saved me and now I finally convince him to be my new sensei! He was so cool, especially when he beat all those ANBU they sent after me! He even got this way cool henge technique! When I get back, I'll be a million times more powerful! It's a promise of a lifetime! The only downside is that I wouldn't be able to return for a few years. But when I do come back, you can be sure that everyone knows it!_

_Anyway, I was going to give you this later once I got it shined up a bit. It's a key to my apartment, well OUR apartment now. I wanted it to be a surprise. Hokage-jiji and Iruka-sensei helped me with renovating the place a bit. I thought, since we didn't really have anyplace to hang out except for the training ground, I'll make us our own place to be just us. Hope you like it. _

_Also, could you tell Old-man Hokage, as well as Iruka-sensei, about me getting some training and that I'll be back as soon as I can. Thanks a bunch, Hinata-chan. _

_Uzumaki Naruto, FutureHokage_

_(Insert crude drawing of Naruto waiving here)_

'He's coming back!' she thought happily, tears of joy falling down her cheeks. Naruto said it himself, 'when' not 'if'. He gave her his word that he is coming back, and he never goes back on his words. "A-arigatou! Arigatou-gozaimazu, Hibiki-san." She said sincerely, clutching the key and Naruto's letter to her chest.

"Naruto's a good kid. Ranma would make sure he becomes strong. I might even teach him a few moves myself. And P-chan," At this he cringed slightly before continuing, ", P-chan would keep him company whenever he could, I assure you."

"T-then, I m-might not s-see P-chan a-anymore." She said, beginning to get teary-eyed once more.

"Of coarse you might. It's just going to take time. You see, he, uh, er, kinda got a directional curse, you see. He could sometimes get quite lost." Ryouga said, embarrassment in his voice.

"O-oh. I see." Hinata said quietly, finally figuring why P-chan always seems to get lost, even in her own room. He even have this tendency to pop out everywhere. There was even that one time when she saw him going inside the bathroom door, and then seconds later, he was crawling out from inside her closet.

"Anyway, Hinata-chan, I would also like to give you this." He held out one of his bandanna, as well as a very old looking scroll, which she took reluctantly. "It's kind of like a thank you present from P-chan after the great job you did taking care of him. I'm quite sure he would like you to have it. And the technique in the scroll is called Tai Chi Quan in its purest form. It might help you better than it did me."

"T-thank you, Hibiki-san. W-would I b-be a-able to s-see him a-again? Both of them?"

"I'm sure you will, Hinata-chan. That's a promise." After that, he smiled at her and left, leaving Hinata with good hopes for the future.

----- **_END FLASHBACK_**-----

And Hibiki-san, or rather P-chan, kept his promise. The cute little piglet showed up from time to time but he never stayed for more than a few hours. Sometimes, it would be Ryouga-san that visits her, and help her improve her Tai Chi Quan. But those visits were very few, the shortest between visits being a month apart. But still, she cherished those moments, and when Ryouga-san taught her how to combine Tai Chi Quan and the Jyuuken, she unknowingly became a recipient of a totally new fighting style that would make her a force to be reckon with in the future.

She sighed once again as she look up at the darkening skies. She concluded that it was just about time to head back into town for a yearly event that has nothing to do with Kyuubi. She just hoped this year would be the last time she do this.

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ON THE ROAD A FEW MILES OUTSIDE KONOHA 

"I'm home! Finally! I've missed everything in this place! I bet my mom would put up a huge banquet for my honor!" The totally giddy 12-year old, pink-haired girl said excitedly as she walk down the familiar path heading towards the Hidden Village of the Leaf along with her companion, Shizune, who couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's enthusiasm. She couldn't really blame her since it has been six years since Sakura left Konohagakure to be an apprentice of one of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf, Tsunade.

"You seem happy. Did you left a boyfriend back there before you left or something?" Shizune asked in a teasing voice.

"What!? Of coarse not! I was six at the time. I think I was still in 'the-boys-are-icky' stage back then." Sakura said indignantly.

"Well, now that you're almost a teenager, any prospect of boys in your foreseeable future?"

The pink haired girl thought about it for a moment. She didn't really want to tell her secrets to anyone, but then again, this is Shizune, the closest thing to an older sister she could ever had. "Well, there is this one guy. He was way older but it didn't stop me from having a major crush on him. He was a genius, heir of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans. He is one of the greatest ninja Konoha had ever produced. Although he always had this serious look on him all the time, his smile will dazzle you if you ever catch a glimpse of it. And I haven't even mentioned his looks. Although, he has this annoying little brother that keeps telling me I have cooties."

Shizune couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of a young boy telling a chibi-Sakura she have cooties. Although, she didn't dismissed the dreamy looks the younger girl was displaying unconsciously. "So, anything else to know about this perfect guy?"

"Hmm. Now that you mentioned it, I am one of the very few people that knows his obsession with pokey."

"Pokey? The chocolate covered waffle kind of snack pokey?"

"Yup. My mom was one of the sales-representative of that stuff when it first came out of the market. I was with her during her sales pitch at their clan compound. I was sort of like my mom's unofficial mascot." She said, remembering that awful pink tutu her mom made her wear along with a basket full of those pokey bars. "That's when I first met him. He was sitting alone by the veranda after practicing some fire jutsu when I walked over to him and offered a bar of pokey."

"Awww! Aint that cute? What happened next?"

"He just stared at me for a few minutes, took a bar, and told me I'm weird girl to wear such an ugly costume. Of coarse, being four years old at the time, I put on a tantrum and told him the costume was cute because I was the one wearing it and he should apologize by buying all of my pokey. After that he merely laughed at me. I would have reprimanded him if my mom didn't drag me out of their compound apologizing for my rudeness. Then, a week later, he came to our house, apologized to me personally, and ordered a week supply of pokey. He had been a regular customer since then."

"Soooooooo," Shizune said, clearly interested now. "What happened to him?"

"Got labeled as an S-Class Missing Nin for single-handedly wiping out his entire clan." Sakura said as casually as possible, and failing quite miserably doing it as well.

"WHAT!?" Shizune asked shocked. "Don't tell me you're talking about . . ."

"Yup! Uchiha Itachi, oldest heir to the Uchiha Clan. Wiped out his entire clan in a single night, leaving only his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, alive. Rumor has it that he is now working for a secret organization made up of S-class Nukenins." She said, having that faraway look on her face.

There was an awkward silence after that. Then, Shizune broke it with a question of, "D-do you still have feelings for him?"

At first there was no answer. The pink haired girl just kept on walking towards the town gate. But then she finally gave out a frustrated sigh, stopped in her tracks, turned around, and gave her friend desperate look before saying, well, more of whining, "I-I really don't know. I mean, I know he's a missing nin and all, and that he's a very dangerous man. But I can't seem to get him out of my head at times. He wiped out his own kinsmen and he wouldn't think twice gutting someone like me but I can't help to wish to see him again. Did you know that the first thing that came into my mind when I heard about the Uchiha Massacre?"

"I never did get your opinion on it at the time. I just thought we were both too busy with our training to think about it. So anyway, what did you think of at the time?" Shizune asked calmly at the ranting girl.

"I thought, 'Would Itachi-sempai still come by for his pokey?' and 'Would he still call me Saku-chan if I ever see him again?'"

"Saku-chan?"

Sakura bristled and immediately said, "I-It's a nickname he gave me. I've always hated it and so he calls me that just to annoy me."

"Saku-chan. Cute." Shizune said, teasing the younger girl.

"What? That's it? You're not going to call me crazy for having a crush at a homicidal maniac?"

"Why? Are you going to be searching for him in the future to join in his homicidal tendencies?"

"Of coarse not!"

"Then it's alright. Besides, I heard rumors that this Uchiha Itachi is supposed to be cute."

"Cute doesn't do him any justice. He is an S-Class Hotty. And that's a certified fact." Sakura said immediately, her eyes getting that dazed look, with a bit of drool on her mouth.

Shizune couldn't help but giggle at her friend's dreamy looks. This Itachi guy must have been a major babe. Well, as long as it's just a harmless crush, there's nothing to worry about. Besides, what are the odds of an S-class Missing Nin being anywhere near Konoha at this very moment in time?

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ABANDONED UCHIHA SECTOR INSIDE KONOHA 

"ITACHI, PREPARE TO DIE!" Was the battle cry of one Uchiha Sasuke as he charged his older brother with a kunai in each hand. Said older brother merely raised an eyebrow as his younger brother dash towards him with intent to kill.

Kisame, who has been watching by the sidelines, couldn't help but be impressed at the determination of the little brat. Sasuke had been trying to kill Itachi for over half a day now, using quite an impressive sets of tactics to get a killer strike in. Although none had managed to connect, most of them managed to get quite close in taking out the S-Class Missing Nin. And each time he got close, Itachi would retaliate in ways that would put him down so hard Sasuke would need a couple of minutes before his determination would kick in and force him to stand up just to get another beating.

The dojo in the abandoned Uchiha Sector of Konoha, where the battle was being held had suffered quite a lot of missed attacks. In fact, Kisame was wondering how it was still standing, considering all the holes, burns, and scorch marks decorating the entire place, thanks mostly to Sasuke's Katon jutsus.

A loud thud told the shark-like man that the brat had made a new window on the dojo wall. He shook his head at this. Couldn't this brat get it through his head that he would never defeat his older brother? Although he has improved quite a bit since last year, it's still not enough to get pass Itachi's battle genius.

And as for Itachi himself, Kisame had been his partner for years now, and he still couldn't grasp what the older Uchiha is capable of thinking sometimes. He could be quite eccentric if he puts his mind into it. Kisame is still not sure why he even went into the trouble of sneaking into Konohagakure each year just to give his younger brother a shot of killing him. It must be an Uchiha thing.

"It seems you haven't improve much, Little Brother. You still exert too much chakra on all your attacks." Itachi said emotionlessly as he just stood in the middle of the dojo, waiting for his brother to get back on his feet. "I think maybe it was a mistake to come this year. You clearly need more time for improvement." He taunted.

As an answer, a huge fire dragon burst out of the hole Sasuke made earlier. Itachi merely look on impassively as the dragon flew pass him as he sidestepped easily. He was already going through several hand seals for a water jutsu to take out the fire dragon when he felt something approaching from his back. He immediately stepped to the side, avoiding two windmill shurikens, and then jumped up to avoid Sasuke's spinning drop kick. And while still in midair, Itachi unleashed a devastating heel kick, which had hit Sasuke on the head, throwing him towards the other side of the dojo.

Kisame whistled at the sidelines. And here he thought the little brat had already used up all his chakra. To be able to perform such a high level fire technique as the fire dragon, the kid must have been saving it as his last trump card. And now that he had used it, there is no way he's getting up after that. Imagine his surprise when he saw Sasuke already on his knees, staring daggers at his older brother, who was walking calmly towards him.

For a moment, either Uchiha said a word. They merely stared at each other. Then, Sasuke finally collapsed at Itachi's feet.

"You have improved." Was all Itachi said as he turn away from his almost dead younger brother. He hadn't even took one step when he felt something thugging at the helm of his Akatsuki robe. Looking down, he saw Sasuke's hand tightly holding on to his robe. It seems that he was using what was left of his strength to keep him from leaving as a last ditch effort.

Sasuke knew that he wouldn't be able to keep his brother from escaping. He knew, from the very start, that he was fighting a losing battle. Itachi was just too strong. He had trained almost non-stop this past year to kill his brother but it was still not enough.

Itachi merely look at him and said in that same emotionless voice, "Are you going back on your word, Little Brother? Remember our deal. You are only going to get your answers if you defeat me."

For a moment, the two stayed as they were, neither one wanting to back down. Then, a few minutes later, Sasuke finally let go and slumped on the floor unconscious.

Itachi made sure that Sasuke was truly unconscious before finally sending a smile at his little bother before beckoning Kisame to follow him out of the dojo.

"You did quite a number on him this year, Itachi." Kisame said, following his partner.

"Yes. Sasuke-kun improved so much in a short time. And his mastery of our clan's fire jutsus are impressive." He said as he took something out from his pocket.

Kisame grimaced when he saw what it was. Who would have thought that Uchiha Itachi, S-Class Missing Nin from Konoha, would have an addiction to pokey? I mean, Kisame never saw him eat anything else except pokey and tea.

"Well, anyway, we have to get to Iwagakure for our next mission, then, after that, we'll head straight to Mist Country." Itachi said as he begun roof hopping towards the nearest gate out of Konoha.

"Why? What's in Mist Country? I don't think there's any mission for us there." Kisame asked.

"The Annual Pokey Convension, of coarse." Itachi beamed cheerfully, making Kisame facefault painfully.

--------------------------------

KONOHA MAIN SQUARE 

Mitarashi Anko was bored. And having 'Anko' and 'bored' used in the same sentence definitely spells trouble. She was currently eating dango while sitting on top of a ledge near the center of town, observing the Kyuubi festival, which was taking place at the streets below. Usually, during this time of the year, she would be out of the village doing a mission but this year she failed to secure one.

She sighed in boredom once more, and was just about to leave for home when she spotted a familiar face in the crowd below. Squinting her eyes, she spotted Umino Iruka entering an alleyway just beside the building she was standing on. Having her curiosity get the best of her, she decided to grab her leftover box of dango and went to trail him from the rooftops.

She saw him running towards the less crowded part of town, away from the celebration. Then she saw him waving at a young girl wearing a chef's uniform standing in front of a ramen shop a few blocks away. The girl waved back and they entered the ramen shop together.

"Well I'll be damned. I never knew Umino had it in him." She never thought Iruka of all people would prefer younger women. And by the looks of it, the girl seems to be in her late teens. Suddenly, a naughty thought came into her mind.

Not one to ignore her impulses, she jumped off the roof and started walking towards the shop. She glanced inside and saw Iruka sitting on the counter talking animatedly with the girl and the old man wearing a chef uniform behind the said counter. When both the girl and the old man turned around to see to Iruka's order, she silently sneaked up behind him before suddenly embracing him in a rather sensual hug from behind.

She felt him suddenly stiffen at the contact, which caused her to grin evilly. She then used her tongue to lick his left outer ear lobe before saying in the most sultry voice she could muster, "Iruka-kun, you've been a very naughty boy. You kept me waiting in bed all day long."

Iruka almost had a heart attack upon identifying the person who suddenly decided to latch onto him, not to mention almost getting a nosebleed when he felt her rather developed chest pressing at his back. "M-Mitarashi-san. W-What are y-you t-talking about? A-and p-please, c-c-could y-you l-let go o-of me n-now?"

But instead of letting go, Anko gave him a seductive pout and said, "Being formal with me now, Iruka-kun? You didn't seem to mind calling me Anko-chan last night when we were both getting hot and wild in your bedroom."

Not being able to stop himself from picturing such an act in his mind, a small trail of blood finally came out of Iruka's nose. At this, Anko wasn't able to hold herself anymore. She immediately let go and started laughing her ass off.

It took a few minutes but Anko finally managed to calm down long enough to say, "Sorry about that, Iruka. But the opportunity was just too tempting to ignore."

"I-it's alright, Mitarashi-san." Iruka said, who now had a small roll of tissue placed on his nose, which when Anko saw, had her giggling madly. Even the young girl in the other side of the counter was giggling.

"Oh come on, Iruka-kun. Stop being so formal with me. We both graduated from the academy at the same time, you know."

"Sorry about that, Anko-san. It's just the way I am."

"I hope you aren't as formal with your girlfriend there?" she said, turning her head towards the young female chef and giving her a lecherous smile.

"W-what? Y-you're mistaken, Anko-san. Ayame is just a friend of mine, more like an acquaintance, really." He said immediately, more towards the glaring Ichiraku Teuchi than Anko herself.

"Is it true, Ayame?" Teuchi asked immediately in a hard tone, never averting his glare towards Iruka.

Ayame really hates it when her father goes 'all-protective of his only daughter' mode. It's making getting a boyfriend quite difficult for the young chef. She sighed before answer in a monotone, "Yes, father. Iruka-san is just a friend and a frequent customer. So stop being silly."

"It better be, or else." Teuchi said glaring one last time at the sweating Iruka before going back to tend the noodles.

"Really?" Anko asked the younger girl. "You mean you don't find anything interesting about Iruka-kun?"

"Well, he's cute and all but I prefer people my own age. No offense, Iruka-kun."

"N-none taken, Ayame-san."

Teuchi, who was looking at his watch, said, "It's almost time."

As if on cue, both Ayame and Iruka suddenly went serious.

"I'll take down the sign outside." Ayame said, stepping out behind the counter to get the 'open' sign outside.

"I'll set up the tables." Iruka said before immediately heading to one corner of the store to rearrange a few tables and chairs. He had used four 'couple's table' and arranged it so it would be one big table. He was preparing to set six chairs around it when he stopped to look at Anko before asking, "Anko-san. Would you like to join us for a simple birthday dinner?"

"Sure, why not. It's not like I got anything better to do today." She said offhandedly.

Iruka merely nodded his head and set seven chairs around the table.

Teuchi then brought out a huge bowl of his Deluxe Combined Ramen Special (it consists of a large batch of noodles topped with all available meat and vegetables ever served in Ichiraku's, namely pork, beef, chicken, and seafood. It is then topped with vegetables, diced onion leaves, and fried garlic before being drenched in hot steamy broth), six smaller serving bowls, and a smaller version of the Deluxe Combined Ramen Special and placed them on the tables.

Seeing the mini-deluxe, she asked, "So, who's that for?"

"It's for the celebrant." Iruka answered.

"Then where is he? Don't tell me the guy is late for his own birthday dinner?" she scoffed. When all three of them stiffened and didn't gave her the answer, she grinned evilly once again. She immediately sat on the table and grabbed the mini-deluxe before saying, "If the guy can't come early for his own party, then I'll make sure his dinner don't go to waste. So, itedaikemasu!"

She was preparing to sample the mini-deluxe when she suddenly loss all feelings in her hand. When she turned to look at it, she saw a hand holding her wrist. But the strange thing is, she can't feel that person's touch. In fact, she can't feel anything passed her wrist, she couldn't even seem to fell her hand anymore to move them. "W-what?"

"Mitarashi-san, please understand that that particular bowl is for the celebrant." Iruka said in such a cold voice that Anko couldn't help but shiver. She didn't even saw him move, as if he just teleported beside her. She slowly placed the bowl back before he let go. Immediately, all feelings returned to her hand, as if she didn't lose feeling it a few seconds ago. She couldn't even feel any residual pressure from where he grabbed her.

Getting her courage back, he turned a glare at Iruka, who seems genuinely apologetic at what he had done. "What's the deal, Umino? I was just teaching the guy a lesson. If he couldn't even get to his own birthday dinner early, then he should not expect to get the best dish in the house. Who is the birthday boy, anyway? And why would he be late for his own dinner?"

Iruka went silent. It was Ayame who decided to answer for him and said, "Naruto-kun had been missing for two years now. We have been doing this for him ever since he was six years old so it became like a tradition here."

"Uzumaki Naruto? From the Festival incident two years ago?" Anko asked in a shocked voice. She had heard about the Uzumaki kid among her peers. Most ANBU and higher jounins didn't care much about him. Everyone else, including almost all of the civilian grown ups, lower jounins, and older chunins, seem to harbor great hate for the boy. While very few acknowledge and respect him for being the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Yes." Iruka said sadly.

Anko didn't know what to say after that. She doesn't really care about the Kyuubi vessel since she had never got to know him personally. According to reports, the kid had been shunned, neglected, and abused by almost everyone. There were also those rumors among the ANBU that the kid would have been dead by now if they didn't managed to foil hundreds of assassination attempts done to him until the age of six, before the mastermind of the said attempts, one of the village council members, got caught by the newly instated Special Ops ANBU known only by the code name 'Crimson Dolphin'.

It is said that after the Festival Incident, the Crimson Dolphin had personally see through the capture, torture, and rehabilitation of everyone responsible for the attack. Rumor has it that the mastermind of the attack is still kept alive and still being subjected to Morino Ibiki's tortures even after two years. Those people, shinobi and villagers alike, who had gone through the rehabilitation process, was said to have been subjected to some kind of special genjutsu. Few of them had changed for the better, never tolerating themselves or anyone else speaking ill of Uzumaki. The rest went into deep depression and committed suicide by the end of the month after their release.

After that, Crimson Dolphin never made another appearance again. Some say he went back to Lightning Country, where he had originated from. While others say he had quit the ANBU and became a civilian of the Leaf. Where ever he is, Anko hope she would get a chance to meet him. Anko had never been interested in men before, but this Crimson Dolphin intrigue her to the point where she could honestly admit to herself that she got a huge crush on the dark, skillful, elusive, and mysterious man. At least, she hoped it's a man. If not, then she is sure to make things quite interesting since she's the type of girl who isn't afraid to get prisky with another girl in public.

"Ah, Anko-san, are you alright? You're drooling." Asked a concern Ayame.

"Huh? What?" Anko said in surprise. She didn't even realize she was daydreaming. Looking around, she saw the others sitting by the table with her and staring at her funny. She immediately shook her head to get any remnants of her previous daydreams out of her head before saying, "I'm fine. Just thinking of this A-Class beefcake I like to know intimately."

"Really? What's his name?" Ayame asked, clearly interested, which earned a scowl from her father.

"Don't know. Although, his code name in the ANBU is Crimson Dolphin."

At the mention of the word, both Teuchi and Iruka stiffened. Luckily, neither Ayame nor Anko noticed.

Anko was looking at the mini-deluxe just which serves as an offering for a lost boy that is truly special for the other people in this place. She then took out a few of her leftover dangos and put them on a small plate before placing it beside the bowl of the mini-deluxe ramen. When Iruka and the others looked at her questioningly, all she said was, "It's just a little something for desert."

"Thank you, Anko-san. I'm sure Naruto-kun will be quite grateful for it." Ayame said reassuringly.

Teuchi snorted at this and said playfully, "Grateful? The kid would probably scam her for another one once he's finished shoveling the first one."

Ayame thought about it for a second before giggling madly and saying, "Yes. That's more than likely what will happen since it is Naruto-kun we're talking about."

"And if Anko-san refused, he'll henge himself into his four-year old self and use the dreaded 'Puppy Dog Pout'." Iruka added with a smile.

Teuchi scowl at that and said, "I really hate it when he does that. He always managed to get 50 percent off of his ramen order ever since he learned how to do that."

"But he was just SO cute as a four year old!" Ayame added with a laugh.

"Seems like you've already started the party." Came a familiar old voice from the entrance. When they turned around, they saw the Sandaime Hokage standing there with a smile on his face and a young pupil-less eyed girl with short bluish-black hair standing beside him.

"Hokage-sama, Hinata-san, welcome." Iruka said warmly.

"Hey there, Hokage-jiji, Hinata-chan. Come on in." Ayame said cheerfully.

"H-Hello." Hinata stuttered softly, giving them a formal bow.

"Hello everyone. Sorry we're a bit late. I see you've managed to invite Anko-san along."

"I just got dragged unexpectedly, Hokage-sama." Anko said a bit sheepishly.

"It's no problem, Anko-san. The more the merrier, I always say." The Hokage said with a warm smile.

Teuchi snorted at this and said, "And here I thought it was 'paperwork is hell' what you always said."

The Hokage chuckle at this and said, "You know me too well, Teuchi-san."

Teuchi chuckled himself, nodded to the Hokage, and said, "I'll bring out the saké." He then disappeared behind the door to the backroom only to return a few minutes later with a large ceramic jar in hand.

The rest of dinner was spent talking about all assortment of things, from getting the best place to get quality hair products to Konoha's political future. Of coarse, there was quite a lot of stories that includes the happier moments each people had spent with the birthday celebrant himself.

Anko unexpectedly got to know more about Uzumaki Naruto in the span of two hours than she ever had her entire life. And she could admit that she really wants to know him personally when, not _if_ (both Hokage and Hinata was adamant about it), _when_ Naruto returns.

Another hour later, when the food is gone and all the alcoholic drinks had been consumed, the Hokage raised his last flask of saké and announced, "I would just like to say that I truly appreciate you all for spending a moment of your time to celebrate the birthday of a very special person. And I offer a toast that by next year, young Naruto would be here with us to enjoy it. To his return!"

"To his return!" echoed everyone in the table, including Anko, as they raised their saké cups (or tea cups in the case of Ayame and Hinata) for the safe return of Uzumaki Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The dinner party lasted half an hour more after the toast and the people that attended soon found themselves heading back to each of their own home.

Being the heiress of one of the most powerful clans in Konoha, you would think that Hyuuga Hinata would be heading to the Hyuuga Estate where her servants would tend to her every needs, but instead, you would see her walking down the dark streets of more seedy part of town. The place is more commonly known as the 'Slums', where the poor and the homeless tries to take advantage of the abandoned buildings to make a home for themselves, where gangs fights other gangs to gain territory, and where most of the undesirable members of society are vanished to. One would think that a twelve years old girl that came from a high profile family wouldn't even dared to set foot in the Slums in the middle of the night alone, especially now that there are a group of half a dozen mean looking teenagers wearing rags and red scarf on their necks standing by the road towards her home. It was dark so she can't really see their faces but she was sure they were members of a gang. Seeing such a group would usually make normal people try to avoid them. But then again, Hinata wasn't very normal.

When she saw a familiar face in the group, she bravely strode towards them and said, "Konbanwa, Yoshio-san."

The group turned to her and the biggest and strongest looking boy there, who seems to be between the age of sixteen to seventeen, had his mean look instantly transformed into a friendly grin while the rest turned into confusion. Yoshio, leader of the Red Demon Gang, was smiling. He never smiled for anyone. He growls, curse, grin maniacally, snarl, and yell at his subordinates but he never smiles. "Konbanwa, Hinata-dono. Isn't it a bit late to be out tonight by yourself? Did you fell asleep training again?" he asked in a calm friendly tone, which seems to be surprising for him considering how menacingly dangerous he looks just a minute ago.

"Not at all, Yoshio-san. I just came back from birthday dinner with a few friends."

"Oh, right. It's Uzumaki-san's birthday today, isn't it? He still hasn't come back yet?"

"No. Not yet anyway. Are you planning to ambush members of Kaede-san's group again?"

Most of the others blinked in confusion. They all know that Kaede was the name of the leader of their rival gang, the Konoha Scourge. So why does this little girl addressed him in such a friendly manner? And why does their boss so friendly with this girl?

Yoshio merely chuckled and said, "Nah. I'm just taking the new recruits out in a stroll to get their feel on things, you know, stuffs like that."

"Oh, I see. Well, anyway, I better get home. Goodnight, Yoshio-san, and try not to get into too much fight."

"I'll try not to but I can't make any promises, Hinata-dono. Besides, I heard Kaede's gang just drafted several new strong recruits. They say some of them are from the academy that failed the genin exam."

"I really wouldn't know. I haven't seen Kaede-san or his friends for a while. I'll ask him if it's true if I see him again."

"Thanks, I'll appreciate it." Yoshio said as she wave one last time to him before walking away.

Yoshio waited until the girl was out of sight before putting his menacingly dangerous look on his face once more.

"Who was that, boss?" one of the recruits asked.

"That is Hinata-dono." He growled menacingly. "She is not to be touched or bothered in any way or form. The Scourge, as well as most young people throughout the Slums, respects that one rule. Anyone who disregard that rule will answer to me before I personally hand over your sorry asses to Kaede of the Scourge." At this, he gave a maniacal grin, causing the new recruits to gulp audibly in fear.

But one member managed to gather his courage and ask, "Um, boss, who is this Uzumaki you were talking about?"

Yoshi glared at him menacingly before snarling out an answer, "Uzumaki Naruto. He's Hinata-dono friend that disappeared a few years ago. She now lives in his old apartment that he had left in her care. Most of the grown ups seems to hate him but I couldn't care less about it, and neither does that bastard Kaede. Hinata-dono speaks highly of him so if the guy ever comes back, the same rule as to that of Hinata-dono would be applied to him as well, except, of coarse when he mistreats her. Then there would be hell to pay."

Meanwhile, Hinata had finally arrived in front of her apartment building. She entered the building and walked up through the stairs to the third floor. As soon as she got to the third floor, she saw her older cousin Hyuuga Neji standing in front of her apartment's doorway, looking quite unhappy to be there.

Gathering her courage, she walked up to him and said, "Good evening, Neji-nii-san."

Neji, as stoic as ever, merely gave his cousin a small nod and said in a formal, yet cold voice, "Hinata-sama, I was sent here by Hiashi-sama to check up on you, as well as to tell you that as soon as the Traditional Choosing of the Heir commence, you are to immediately leave this pitiful excuse of a shelter and return to the Hyuuga Clan House. And also, Hanabi-sama had ordered me to tell you the same message only adding that you should prepare yourself to be branded as a Branch member."

Hinata sighed at the message. Knowing Neji, and she does, he had neither edited the message nor added his own insults to the said message. He had delivered the message to her word for word straight from her father and sister's mouth. "Thank you for telling me, Neji-nii-san. And please tell father that I will be at the Clan House once the time comes." She said formally.

Neji merely nodded and started to walk away now that his orders had been completed. He was almost at the stairs when he heard his cousin call him and said, "N-Neji-n-nii-san, w-would you l-like to c-come in f-for s-some t-tea?"

She was stuttering again, and fingering that strange yellow and black stripped scarf on her neck. Neji really hated seeing her like this. She's the eldest heir of the Main House for Kami's sake and yet she acts so weak and pitiful. Doesn't she have any Hyuuga pride at all?

Neji admits that Hinata isn't like the typical member of the Main House. She's too kindhearted compared to all those other snobbish, prideful, and oppressive members of the Main House. She doesn't like seeing anyone of her family being hurt, whether they be from the Main or Branch House. Heck, she doesn't like seeing anyone hurt, period. It was one of the main reasons why she was totally respected here in the Slums.

One good example of this is when she had just recently moved here after a fight between her and her sister Hanabi. Neji was ordered to secretly keep an eye on her and make sure she's safe. A few members of Kaede's gang were setting up an ambush for her one night and he managed to beat them up several minutes before the said ambush was sprung. Of coarse, when Hinata rounded the corner and saw them in the ground groaning in pain, she just had to try and give them some medical assistance, not knowing that they were planning to do her harm just minutes before. When Kaede himself arrived at the scene and got to know the whole story, he was going to punish the said members for doing things behind his back but was stopped by Hinata herself saying that they are still pretty much injured. Since then, Hinata had come under the protection of the Konoha Scrouge. And pretty soon, The Red Demons leader got to meet the girl and had came to the same conclusion as Kaede himself. Yoshio had offered her the same protection and the One Rule had been set up by both gangs.

Yup, Hinata is just too kindhearted to be in the Main House, and for that, he genuinely tolerates her presence. He knows that pretty soon, she would be branded with the Cursed Seal and placed in the Brach House. Maybe then he could try to actually become her friend and try to teach her some Hyuuga pride. But until such thing comes to pass, he would treat her like any other members of the Main House, with hate.

He looked at her coldly, causing her to flinched, before saying in a cold voice, "No." Then, he left.

Hinata sighed in defeat once more before taking out her key, and after opening her apartment's door, she went inside. One would think that being in a rundown building like this one, the apartments would be as crappy as the building itself. When Hinata came to see Naruto's apartment for the first time, that was exactly what she thought. That is, until she got to see the inside of the apartment itself. He said in his letter that he was only renovating a bit, and when she saw thick soft carpet, freshly painted walls, brand new furniture, two master bedroom, one guestroom, a fully loaded kitchen/dining room, and a newly built bathroom big enough to have its own onsen, she concluded that Naruto was clearly a master of understatement. She doesn't know how they did it or if Naruto's apartment was already like this before, but Naruto, Iruka-sensei, and the Sandaime Hokage had managed to turn the entire third floor into one huge apartment for her, as well as for Naruto himself. She cried that time, when she first came here and saw her name written on a fox-shape plate hanging outside her bedroom door, telling her that this place is as much as a home to her as it is for her Naruto-kun.

Standing in front of her bedroom door, she activated her Byakugan to see inside her room, which is mostly bare and only has a bed, a small desk, a chair, and closet half full of her normal everyday clothes. Satisfied at what she saw, she turned off her Byakugan before biting her thumb just enough to draw blood and smeared the blood on her door. Soon enough, symbols started appearing on her door, forming a type of seal she was quite familiar with. Seconds later, the entire door emitted a dim blue glow before fading. When she finally opened the door, the sight inside was quite different compared to what she saw a minute ago with the use of her bloodline limit. Her room was almost overflowing with quite a large collection of scrolls, tomes, and personal notes, most of which contains subjects about Seals.

Navigating through several scroll-filled boxes, she reached her closet and searched through all her clothes, consisting of jackets, shirts, cloaks, jeans, and the occasional mini-skirts, for a set of silk pajamas to wear for bed.

As soon as she got changed, she unceremoniously dropped her tired body into bed, already dreaming about the future where Naruto-kun is by her side and her long-time research to counteract the Caged-Bird Seal used on the Branch House of the Hyuuga Clan was a reality. Ever since she learned about such a seal being placed on her fellow relatives in the Branch House, she had secretly begun to find a way to counteract it. Her research brought her such intimate knowledge of Sealing Techniques that she was already halfway to being a renowned Seal Master like the Perverted Frog-Sannin himself despite her young age. One example of this is the seal she used to hide the true contents of her room, making sure that even her fellow Byakugan users would only see a clean and bare room almost devoid of anything, when in truth it was almost overflowing with stuff inside. Another example is the Locking Seal she used on her door, allowing the only people able to open it who owns a key to the said apartment.

But of coarse, if the Hyuuga Clan Head, or even the Hyuuga Council of Elders, ever find out about her research before she becomes the Clan Head, she would be killed instantly to prevent its completion.

Putting aside Clan business for now, she turned her thoughts to more pleasant things, like her Naruto-kun for example. She had missed him so much this past two years, only having his letters that promises her of his return. She fell asleep wishing that her precious Naruto-kun would finally come home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a new day for the peaceful village of Konohagakure. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, the birds are singing, and every man, woman, and child who had managed to wake up earlier than their peers are all staring slack-jawed at the unbelievable sight they are seeing at this very moment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HOKAGE OFFICE**

Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, had been in going through some paperworks since four in the morning. The reason for this is because he wasn't able to get much sleep last night, his thoughts always lingering to a certain blond haired, whiskered-cheeks, blue-eyed boy that he had failed to protect. And now, he was drowning himself at his work, trying not to think about his failures.

He was just about finished with another set of files when his chuunin secretary suddenly ran into the room and said in a panicking tone, "H-Hokage-sama! There's an emergency!"

Standing up abruptly, the Hokage asked immediately with all seriousness, "What is it? Are we being attacked?"

The chuunin seems to hesitate for a bit before saying, "S-sir, um, you better see for yourself, sir." The chunnin then immediately opened the window behind the Hokage's desk.

For a moment, the Hokage merely stared at the scene in shock. Then, all of a suddenly, the Sandaime's shoulder begun to shake. The chuunin thought it was due to anger, but the idea was immediately shut out when the old man begun to snigger. That snigger became giggles. And the giggles finally turn into full-blown laughter.

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**IRUKA'S APARTMENT**

Umino Iruka had just stepped out of his apartment to get his morning paper when he noticed his neighbors staring at something with disbelief in their eyes. Turning around to see what the others find so fascinating, Iruka dropped his paper in shocked at what he saw. He immediately went back inside his apartment and as soon as he was fully clothe in his chuunin uniform, he dashed towards that particular place, almost putting the Yondaime's Hiraishin no Jutsu technique to shame, in hopes of finding something he had lost some time ago.

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**SAKURA'S ROOM**

Haruno Sakura had totally enjoyed the feeling of waking up in her own bed after five years of absence. Despite how late her own welcome home party ended last night, she still managed to wake up early to greet this brand new day. But she wouldn't be surprised if her mother wouldn't be able to stop herself from sleeping in today.

Grabbing a bath towel from her closet, she stepped out of her room to head for the bathroom downstairs. She was walking by the 2nd floor hallway when she took a quick look outside a nearby window that had her stopping dead in her tracks. "What the hell?"

"Oh my!" Came the voice of a similarly shocked Shizune behind her. "Does this sort of stuff happens all the time here?"

"I don't know. But that had never happened when I was here." Answered a bewildered Sakura as both women stare at the strange view in front of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**NARUTO'S APARTMENT**

Hyuuga Hinata woke up felling something a bit different about this morning, as if she forgot something important. Sitting at the side of her bed and scanning her memories of yesterday, she didn't found anything significant, that is, until her eyes caught the alarm clock sitting innocently on top of her desk.

That's it! She forgot to set her alarm clock! And now she's late for the academy. Rushing to her closet, she picked out her daily clothes and immediately went to the bathroom. As soon as she was done cleaning up and sealing her room once more, she ran out of the apartment in hopes that she could reach the classroom before the teacher gets there.

She was so occupied with the time that she didn't even notice the huge camping bag in the middle of the living room or the orange bamboo umbrella on top of it. If she had seen them, then she would have questioned how they got there since the entire apartment had a seal placed on it which prevents anyone but Seal Experts to break into the place without a key that had been used on the doorknob before the seal was placed. And since she had the only spare key, the original key would be with the person who first lived in the apartment itself.

Meanwhile, Hinata was just about to run out into the street when a small creature suddenly dashed in front of her, almost causing her to fall. Luckily, she managed to stop and regain her balance before such a thing happened. Turning around, she almost squealed upon seeing a small, cute, red eyed baby fox looking back at her. It has an almost silk-like red-orange fur with white highlights on its legs, ears, jaw, and underbelly. It's fluffy tail, with the same white fur highlight on the tip, was wagging playfully.

"Um, h-hello." Hinata said nervously in fear that the fox might attack her. But instead, the little fox walked towards her and rubbed itself on her legs like a cat. "You're quite friendly, aren't you, boy." She said as she picked the little fox onto her arms. When the fox gave her a small growl, she asked, "Oh, you're a girl, then?" The fox nodded its head at her before getting itself, or rather herself, quite comfortable in her arms.

Hinata felt a sense of déjà vu. Almost the exact thing had happened when she first met P-chan. Looking at the little fox purring at her arms, she smiled. She could just feel that things are starting to look up.

She run towards the academy once more, making sure not to disturb the fox now sleeping on her arms. She had just got out into the main road when she saw everyone staring dumbfounded at something. Following their gazes, she was shocked at what she saw.

Someone had painted graffiti on the Hokage Monument. The First Hokage have blue eyelashes and black eyes, combined with clown-like red lips. The Second Hokage have white swirls on both cheeks, long black mustache, and large buck tooth like a beaver. The Third have tears and snot painted on its eyes and nose respectively. While the Fourth have thick black eyebrows almost taking up its entire forehead and drool on its mouth.

The sheer sight of it would have made anyone laugh (although some actually did) if it wasn't for the fact that it was the most sacred landscape in Konohagakure.

Then, a thought suddenly hit her, something she read before. When she finally remembered it, she gasped. It may or may not be what she was hoping for, but she could think of nothing else that could be closer to the culprit's reason for doing such an act of vandalism.

Hoping with all her heart that she was right, she started running towards the foot of the Hokage Monument with the thought of, '_when I do come back, you can be sure that everyone knows it!'_

"Naruto-kun!" she whispered softly to herself, having only to get heard by the fox, who seems to be doing its own version of a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On top of the Hokage Monument was a blond, blue eyed, and whiskered-faced boy grinning like a madman. His black pants with orange strips on both sides, as well as his gray shirt with a red swirl design in front, were sporting a lot of stray paints.

He smiled at the town below him. This was the town where he was born, where he grew up, and pretty soon, this place would be his home. He had made a promise long ago which concern this place, and he is not about to go back on his word. 'HE DOESN'T GO BACK ON HIS WODS', that is his Nindo!

Smiling at the town one last time, he gathered his voice and shouted with all his might, "ATTENTION KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO! UZUMAKI NARUTO IS BACK!"

Pls RxR . . .


	2. Chapter 1

**RANMA-NARUTO XOVER**

**i do not own Naruto or Ranma so don't sue.**

**CHAPTER 1**

"HEY HOKAGE-JIJI! I'M BACK!" Shouted the blond boy cheerfully as he entered the Hokage's office escorted by half a dozen ANBU, half of which are glaring at him behind their masks for addressing the Hokage so informally.

"That you are, my dear boy." The Sandaime said with a warm chuckle, gaining a few raised eyebrows from the ANBU escorts. The old man then turned towards the ANBU and said, "Thank you for escorting him here. You may now leave. And please tell my secretary that I am not to be disturbed by anyone today. And I do mean anyone."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The lead ANBU with a crow mask said as he bowed before walking out the door along with his squad.

As soon as the door was locked, the Sandaime walked in front of his desk, smiled at the young boy, and gave him a brief hug before saying, "I'm glad you're back, Naruto!"

The old man was fully expecting the boy to flinch at the contact, but instead, he felt him hugging back as the boy said, "Yeah, Hokage-jiji. I missed you too." Tapping each other's backs, they let go. Besides, they were manly men and they're not supposed to be into mushy stuffs like hugging people of the same gender.

The Sandaime then sat back on his chair behind the desk while Naruto sat on the desk itself facing him. "So, Naruto, first things first, why did you vandalized the Hokage Monument?"

"Many reasons. One, because I want everyone to know that I'm back. Two, I missed out on doing pranks to the village for a few years so I had to come up with something big. Three, the Hokage faces seems so dull so I decided to lighten them up a bit." Naruto said, showing a wide grin on his face.

There was silence for a moment, which actually cause Naruto to fidget a bit. In fact, he was sweating so much at anticipating the punishment he would have been likely to get for degrading the Monument. Then, the Hokage smiled at him and said, "Very well. So where have you been?"

Not expecting the sudden change of topic, Naruto face-faulted on the desk, hard. As soon as he got up, he stared disbelievingly at the Hokage and asked, "That's it? You're not giving me any punishment? Not even cleaning up that mess?"

"No." The Sandaime said flatly before smiling at him. "Besides, I've already assigned a group of genins to do the task."

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Meanwhile, at the Hokage Monument:

"YOSH! IF I DON'T CLEAN THIS UP IN TWO HOURS, I WILL RUN 500 LAPS AROUND KONOHA ON MY HANDS!" Cried a young boy with huge eyebrow, a bowl cut hair, and wearing green spandex.

"MY BEAUTIFUL YOUTHFUL STUDENT, LEE! I COMMEND YOU FOR SHOWING SUCH DEDICATION TO FULFILL SUCH MONUMENTAL TASKS! NOW SHOW THEM YOUR BURNING PASSION FOR THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"

"HAI, GAI SENSEI! I WILL MAKE YOU PROUD AND SPREAD MY PASSION OF YOUTH!"

"OH LEE!"

"OH GAI-SENSEI!"

"OH LEE!"

"OH GAI-SENSEI!"

"OH LEE!"

"OH GAI-SENSEI!"

"Oh brother!" Tenten groaned helplessly as she watched her teammate and her Jounin instructor at it once again. Shivering a bit, she then turned towards her other teammate who was already starting to do their mission objective of cleaning the paint off of the Hokage Monument.

Neji, her other teammate, on the other hand, was desperately trying to do this mission without slaughtering the two spandex-wearing members of his squad while silently cursing the name of the person that defiled the monument.

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"ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed suddenly, feeling that someone was thinking about him.

"So anyway, where have you been, Naruto?" The Sandaime asked.

The blond boy gave him a cheerful smile and answered, "Nerima."

"Nerima?"

"Yup." And before the Sandaime voiced his follow-up question, Naruto immediately added, "I really can't tell you where it is exactly, Ojiji, since it's nowhere near the Shinobi Continent. And I can't really tell you how to get there either since I promised those people that took care of me there that I won't tell anyone unless they allowed me to. Besides, Ryoga-sensei is the only one who could come and go from Nerima to here whenever he pleases, which he does mostly just to visit Hinata-chan."

The Sandaime was a bit peeved at that information but didn't push any further. "Oh, yes. There was a report about a man with a large red bamboo umbrella and a yellow and black tiger stripped bandanna that usually visits her a few times a year. But neither the Hyuugas or the ANBU can keep track of him."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Ryoga-sensei can disappear on you in a split second." Naruto said with a knowing smirk.

"Well, anyway, about those people that you lived with, did they took good care of you?"

At this, the young boy gave him a genuine smile and said, "To tell you the truth, old man, I've never been more happy in my life. I've finally found a place where I can be myself. No one in Nerima ever treated me like the villagers here do. Everyone there had been a sensei to me at least once, and taught me some pretty cool stuff. They made me part of their family. Ranma-nii-san had saved my life in more ways than one. Despite all the chaos that surround the place, it has been the best four years of my life."

Sarutobi doesn't know how to feel about the boy's revelation. On one hand, he was very grateful to those people for taking such good care of Naruto. On the other hand, he was quite sad at the fact that it took total strangers rather than him to finally get Naruto to come out of his deceptive shell. Momentarily choosing the later, he was about to ask him more about those people when something Naruto had said came into his thoughts. "Naruto, did you say you were gone for four years?"

Putting on a confused look on his face, Naruto asked, "Um, yeah. Hasn't it been four years here?"

"No. You've only been gone for two years, not four."

Naruto thought hard about that little bit of information before shrugging and said, "Well, I guess time here moves slower here than in Nerima, which would also explain why the spiritual gravity here is at least five times lighter."

"Spiritual gravity?"

"Yup! The old troll said it was the reason why it took me three months of constant training in that place before I was able to bring out my chakra again. It's also the reason why, right now, my chakra is going haywire."

"What do you mean, Naruto?"

"Well, basically, it means that I won't be able to use my chakra efficiently for a while since it's adjusting itself to the spiritual gravity of this place. I can't do any jutsu unless they require a very large amount of chakra."

"How long will it take before your chakra stabilizes?"

"I don't really know. Probably a couple of months."

"I see." The Sandaime said before asking, "Can you tell me more about what had happened to you since you left?"

"Sure, old man. Just get yourself comfortable since this is going to take a while." Naruto then proceeded to tell the Hokage about his life in Nerima since he got there. He told him how the entire Nerima Wrecking Crew easily warmed up to him after a few awkward first impressions. He told him how they, particularly Kasumi-nee-san and Nodoka-kaa-san had help him get rid of his defensive mask of cheerfulness. He also told him how each one of then had thought him some very useful techniques, as well as lesson in life. He told him some of the very unique and strange places he's been to. He also mentioned some of the troubles he had gotten himself in.

Throughout the entire story, the Sandaime had paid raft attention, only asking some questions to get a better description of what Naruto has been talking about. Some of the stories he heard seem too weird to be true. Just think about it, a boy who could change gender with the application of cold water. But he saw no reason for Naruto to lie.

Two hours later, Naruto had finished reliving his story, or at least most of it that he was willing to share with the old man. At the end of his tale, Naruto said, "And then, I told them that I needed to go back. I took me a year to finally convince them that I had a promise to keep."

"Oh? And what promise is that?" The Hokage asked smiling, already having a thought of what kind of promise it would be.

At this, the boy gave him a confident smirk and said with all the confidence he could muster, "What else? It's to take your job as the Greatest Hokage of all time!"

At this, the Hokage gave him a heartwarming chuckle and said, "I'm sure you would, my boy. But," the Hokage stopped at this point for a moment, putting up a teasing smile, "you do know that you need to be at least a jounin to be Hokage? And that the genin exam is just two weeks away?"

"WHAT!?"

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Nara Shikamaru was enjoying something that has been quite rare at his current location. He was sleeping. Inside the classroom. During taijutsu class. And his teacher, Umino 'Punctuality' Iruka, has been nowhere in sight for the last hour. Throughout his academy years, his teacher, Iruka-sensei, had only been late in class once, and that was two years ago. He knew that whatever it is that was keeping the teacher must be something big, and whatever it is, he hope that it would keep the older man away, at least until he finishes his nap.

Don't get him wrong, he likes Iruka just fine. His teacher never bothers him when he naps during lectures. And although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was thankful for the man for finding ways in motivating him in practical courses, despite how troublesome it is. It was the only reason why he wasn't as weak physically as he should be if his laziness was left alone.

He was just making himself comfortable, when the blond-haired, blue-gray eyes, banshee, also known as Yamanaka 'The Vane of His Life' Ino, decided to interrupt his well deserved nap by saying, in a louder than necessary voice, "Hey, Shika! Did you see what happened to the Hokage Monument this morning?"

"Yes." He answered lazily. He would have added 'Now go away and leave me alone' but he knew it would only give her an excuse to chew him out more.

"Rumor has it that the culprit was taken to the Hokage by a complete ANBU platoon and would be sentenced to death for his crime." She gossiped, which according to Shikamaru, is truly unnecessary.

He was about to voice a retort when Akimichi Chouji, holding a freshly opened bag of chips, came behind Ino and said, "Don't you think it's a bit harsh? I mean, according to my dad, he was up earlier today so he got a glimpsed of the guy that did it while being escorted to the Hokage Tower, and he told me he was just a kid like us."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Chouji. I don't think the Hokage would sentence a kid to die just for vandalizing some famous landmark." Shikamaru said in that same lazy tone.

"What do you mean, you lazy ass? The Hokage Monument is one of the most sacred monuments in Konoha! It's not just 'some famous landmark' as you call it! Don't you care about the pride of our village?" Ino shrieked.

"It's too troublesome to think about it."

Ino would have bitten his head off for that remark if Inuzuka Kiba, with his faithful dog, Akamaru, and his friend Shino, suddenly joined the conversation.

"I think the entire thing was hilarious. I mean, who would have thought anyone would have the guts to do something like that? Most of the kids I passed by during the morning were laughing so hard at it, right Akamaru, Shino." Kiba said as brash and loud as ever before chuckling a bit.

"Arf!' Akamaru agreed on top of Kiba's head.

". . ." Shino said, as stoic as ever, which Kiba accepted as an affirmative.

"And I bet you'd do the same if given the chance, would you, dog-breathe?" Ino taunted.

Kiba smirked at her and said proudly, "Of coarse I would. That has got to be one of the best pranks in Konoha history. Right, guys?"

"Arf!" agreed Akamaru.

". . ." Shino said, which could either mean a 'yes' or a 'don't include me in this'.

"Boys and their stupidity!" Ino spat indignantly before adding, "Why can't you be more mature like Sasuke-kun?" She then turned to the raven-haired prodigy and said in a sweet, fan-girl-type voice, "Isn't that right, my Sasuke-kun?"

The said boy merely scoffed at her and continued to brood in his seat.

"SASUKE-KUN IS SO COOL!" She squealed in delight with pink hearts in her eyes, earning quite a lot of support from the girls and glare from the boys in class. Future members of the Rookie Nine took an involuntary step back from the clearly delusional fangirl.

"So anyway, Chouji, what else did your father say about the culprit?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, he didn't say who it was when I asked. He just smiled at me and said that things would become interesting again."

"Well, that helped a lot." Kiba said sarcastically.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto." Said Shino in an even tone, earning a shock from almost everyone in the room not only because of finding out who the culprit really was, but also because Shino was the one who said it. Instantly, the whole room erupted in whispers.

"You mean the same Uzumaki Naruto from the Festival Incident?" Ino asked in disbelief.

"It is what my bugs had told me." Shino said in that same emotionless tone.

Almost everyone in the village had heard about the boy that had forced the Sandaime to call forth the Crimson Dolphin into Konoha to personally handle the capture, interrogation, and execution of the ones responsible for the Festival Incident. Although not many in the village knew of the Crimson Dolphin at first, by the time he was finished with half of the suspects, his name has been feared by all those who had ever mistreated the blond boy.

The Crimson Dolphin had personally captured most of the shinobi that managed to escape from the ANBU. Since most of them tried to hide in disguise in plain sight, a lot of his captures were done in public. He had used mere basic ninja-academy techniques and had captured them even though some of them were using jounin level jutsus.

By the brutality he showed at capturing his targets, many thought that the Crimson Dolphin would have killed every prisoner he had. But when all of the publicly-known suspects were released a month later, they thought the Dolphin was too soft, that is until more than half of the suspects committed suicide, while the rest either turned for the better or left the village in disgust of the said village. Rumor has it that he had put them under a genjutsu so horrible that it had changed the way they see themselves in their own mind that they either commit suicide or changed their entire way of life.

The Crimson Dolphin disappeared soon after and was never heard from again. But he had left enough of an impression that gained fear from those that mistreated the Kyuubi Vessel as well as praise for his incredible skills as a shinobi.

Everyone of the future Roolie Nine were deep in thought as they try to remember the blond boy who often gets into trouble with his pranks. Even Sasuke, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, can't help but think about the said blond boy.

Sasuke remembered those days when the boy with whisker like marks on his cheeks would walk by his favorite brooding spot by the lake. They never said anything to each other since no words were needed. They knew that the other was an orphan and had know the pain of being alone, and by that alone, they acknowledge each other. They would sometime give each other a silent nod as if to say, 'Hey, how are you doing' and 'I'll manage so don't worry'. They may have different ways of dealing with loneliness, one hides it behind a mask of cheerfulness and smiles, while the other behind indifference, yet the pain is still the same.

His musing, as well as everyone else's, was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice coming from outside the classroom saying, "THIS IS SO UNFAIR! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WOULD BE FOR ME TO PERFORM ANY TYPE OF ACADEMY NINJUTSU UNTIL MY CHAKRA STABILIZES! CAN'T YOU JUST EXTEND MY TEST OR SOMETHING? I MEAN, YOU'RE THE HOKAGE FOR KAMI'S SAKE!"

"The Hokage?" asked most of the people there.

And sure enough, the Sandaime Hokage himself came through the door chuckling as he said to the blond-haired, blue-eyed, and whiskered-face boy following him, "Come now, my boy. Do you really expect me to change the entire academic system for such a trivial reason as that? Besides, there is always the option of getting into next years graduating batch if you don't think you could pass the gennin exam in two weeks time."

"And waste one whole year more before I steal the title of Hokage from you, no way old man!" The blond boy said as he point an accusing finger at the Sandaime, who merely gave a hearty laugh at the boy.

'How rude! Doesn't he realize he's talking to the Sandaime?' thought most of the people there.

'Who the hell is this kid? He's got some guts to talk to the Big Honcho like that! Tch! I like the kid already.' Thought Kiba with a smirk.

'How troublesome. But the Sandaime seems to see the kid as family, and by the looks of it, the kid seems to feel the same about the Hokage if the grin on both their faces is any indication.' Shikamaru thought.

'Uzumaki Naruto. So you're finally back. I wonder how strong you've become.' Came the thought from one Uchiha Sasuke, who sported a small grin, which was fortunately concealed behind the henge he was covering himself with to hide his bruised body.

'Uzumaki Naruto . . . he is strong. But his chakra is fluctuating wildly.' Shino thought analytically.

The Hokage finally turned his attention to the class and smiled at them before saying, "Good morning everyone. I hope I didn't interrupted anything."

The kids in class was saved from answering when the door to the classroom opened up once more and their instructor, Umino Iruka walked in followed by a pink-haired girl of about their age.

"Sorry for being late, class, I just had some business at the. . . Hokage . . .Tower." Iruka had his eyes on a notebook when he entered so he didn't see the Hokage standing in front of his class just until now. "H-Hokage-sama! What a surprise to see you here!"

The Sandaime merely gave him a warm smile and said, "I am sorry for barging in on you so suddenly, Iruka-san. I was just escorting a new student for your class."

"A new student? Who might this new . . . student . . . NARUTO!" Iruka said in shock upon finally noticing the distinguishing whisker-like marks on the face of the boy standing just beside the Sandaime. "I-is t-that r-really you, N-Naruto?" asked the now emotional Iruka, tears starting to form on his eyes.

The blond boy gave him one of his biggest smiles as he said, "Iruka-sensei. I'm back and you owe me two year's worth of ramen!"

"NARUTO! YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK!" Iruka shouted in glee as he teleported from the door to the boy's side, intent on giving his long-lost son/younger brother a hug. Of coarse, such sudden action caused Naruto to step back unconsciously, allowing his old teacher to only grab his left leg in a hug.

"IRUKA-SENSEI, STOP THAT! IT'S TOTALLY CREEPING ME OUT! AND FOR KAMI'S SAKE, YOU'RE A FULLY GROWN MAN NOT A DOG!" Naruto shouted in horror as he try to shack his teacher off of him with no apparent success. The man was too emotional for the time being to think of anything else.

Such a scene was getting very different reactions from the people around them. The Hokage was trying to stiffle his laughs and was failing miserably. Kiba was laughing his heart out. Sasuke and some others were totally creep out by such a display. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and pretty much everybody else have huge sweat drops on their heads.

'Man, talk about mood swings. Just a minute ago, he seems like his world was going to end. But now he seems like a kid in Christmas morning.' Thought the pink headed girl dejectedly as she watch the grown man makes a fool of himself.

Haruno Sakura turned towards her future classmates. She knew that with her training under the Legendary Sannin Tsunade, she could ace the genin exam no problem. It was, after all, the reason she went back to Konoha. As soon as she makes chunnin, Tsunade would start teaching her the more advanced stuff of being a medic nin.

She glanced inconspicuously at the people in the room, observing one of them for a few seconds before looking at the next one. Some of them she could vaguely remember she saw around town when she was still living here, the rest are total strangers to her. Then, her eyes came to the brooding dark haired boy by the window.

'That's Itachi-sempai's little brother, the little troll.' She thought. It was strange that among anyone here, it was the one person she wanted to forget the most that she remembered the most. Her hand subconsciously went to her bright pink hair, as if remembering a phantom pain when the little troll (Sasuke) had once pulled it painfully a long time ago to see if it was a wig or not.

She suddenly came out of her musing when she heard glass breaking nearby. Turing towards the front of the classroom again, she saw that Iruka was gone, the blond kid had his leg extended upwards towards the window, and everyone was looking at the man-shaped hole on the glass window. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened.

She looked at the blond boy and said, "You do realize that we are on the third floor, right?"

The blond kid blinked at her before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "He's a chuunin. He'll live." That answer had everyone developing a sweatdrop.

"N-A-R-U-T-O!" Came an enraged shout outside. A minute later, a raging Iruka burst through the door and grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt. The older man was shaking the kid so hard as he shouted in anger, "NA-RU-TO! I SPENT TWO FREAKING YEARS WORRYING ABOUT YOU AND THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS THROW ME OUT THE WINDOW? YOU BETTER HAVE A FREAKING GOOD EXCUSE OR I'LL THROTTLE YOU TO DEATH YOU INSUFFERABLE BRAT!"

"S-see-ee w-w-wh-what I-I-I m-m-mea-mean." Naruto said to the pink haired girl with a grin as best as he could while simultaneously being throttled by an irate Iruka.

This, of coarse, got a good laugh from most of the class, as well from the Hokage himself, who settled for a warm chuckle.

"Naruto-kun?" came a familiar voice from the doorway that brought everyone in the room to a halt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier:

Hinata walked dejectedly towards the academy with the little fox sleeping in her arms. She was really looking forward to seeing the culprit to the Hokage Monument's vandalism prank but the Hokage's secretary was adamant about not letting anyone in his office for the rest of the day. Not even the council members were able to get an audience with the Hokage despite their protest. Not only that, the Hokage's office was warded against any type of spying so not even her Byakugan was able to see through the closed office door.

She was just passing through the gate of the ninja academy when she saw Iruka-sensei smash through the third floor window and plummet to the ground face first. She gasped and was about to go and help him when she saw him stagger up on his own with a furious expression on his face.

"N-A-R-U-T-O!" He shouted in rage as he dash towards the academy building with enough killing intent bursting out of him to put S-Class missing nins to shame.

Hinata stopped dead on her tracks upon hearing the name Iruka-sensei uttered in rage. Could it be? Is Naruto really here?

With hope filling her entire being, she rushed after the enraged chuunin instructor. When she finally arrived at the classroom, she saw _him_ being strangled by an irate Iruka. Then, she got a good look at his face.

'He's here! He's really here! Thank Kami!' she thought to herself, tears of happiness swelling on the side of her eyes. Despite missing him for two years, she was happy that whenever he had gone to, he seems to have been well taken care off. He seems to be a lot healthier than when he left. He also seems to be a bit taller now. And if chakra sense isn't deceiving her, he felt more powerful than ever before. "Naruto-kun?"

Everyone there turned to her, but she paid them no mind. All her attention was focused solely on the blond boy that gave her an honest genuine smile upon seeing her.

Naruto turned to her, gave her a smile, and said cheerfully, "Hey there Hinata-chan! I'm home!"

She almost had a heart attack when she didn't see his mask of cheerfulness that he always used subconsciously. It was either he got better at using it or he got rid of his mask altogether. When she saw the genuine smile reach his eyes, she knew that it was the latter. It wasn't a mask anymore. Where ever he had been this last two years, seems to have a tremendous positive effect on him to get rid of such a well crafted mask of smiles to hide years of loneliness and fear.

With all these emotions swirling in her head, combined with the shock of finally seeing her friend and potential life-mate back, she did the only thing her feeble mind could do in such a situation. She fainted dead away.

"Hinata-chan!" Came the concern voice of the blond boy as she caught her in his arms before the blackness took her entirely.

PPls rxr


	3. Chapter 2

**RANMA-NARUTO XOVER**

I don't own Naruto or Ranma 1/2

**CHAPTER 2**

The Sandaime Hokage had a smile on his face as he returned to the Hokage Tower after the incident at the academy. He knew Naruto and his small list of friends won't be able to focus on anything except for the blond boy's return so he had ordered both Naruto and Iruka to take Hinata home to rest, giving them a day off. He even subtly mentioned to pass by Ichiraku on their way just so they could include Ayame and Teuchi for a small reunion party.

He entered his office and had just closed the door when he felt a foreign presence inside his office. Turning around, he saw a young woman with pageboy-cut brown hair, wearing some formal civilian business suit sitting on his chair reading a familiar top secret files on Uzumaki Naruto's history.

Before the Sandaime could question her identity, she put the files down and turned to him with calculating eyes and said in a cool and emotionless voice, "Good morning, Sarutobi-san. Please take a seat. We have a lot to discuss."

The Sandaime stared at the woman intently, sizing her up if she was a threat or not. He sensed that her chakra was minimal and merely genin level but her entire posture was too cold, too calculating to get any solid conclusion. Taking a risk, he sat down on an empty chair across from his desk and said, "Good morning as well, Miss. . ."

"My name is Tendo Nabiki, Sandaime-sama." She said with a good dose of respect before going back to her formal, cold, emotionless, and business-like self.

"If you know who I am, then you also know what my title represents?" He said, pouring a bit of his enormous chakra out in the open to tell her that he didn't just given the title of Hokage by being old. No. He had earned it by being the strongest of the Leaf in his prime.

But the woman was clearly not intimidated. The only change seen in her posture was a tiny raise of one eyebrow. "Yes, I do. But titles, not even as prestigious as yours, have any meaning to what we are to discuss."

"Then please tell me what it is you wish to discuss."

"The continuous healthy welfare of one Uzumaki Naruto."

That had got the Sandaime's attention in a flash. He stopped his intimidation tactics and said, more of a statement than a question, "So, you are with the people that took Naruto during his absence here. Then tell me, why did you not arrived with him?"

"To answer your questions, yes, we took him in when he arrived with my brother in law. The reason we are not with him will be classified for the time being. And if I had any say in the matter, he wouldn't have set foot back in this village ever again. But such decisions are not mine to make." The Sandaime admits that this was no ordinary girl. She seems to have played this political game all her life to have such a perfect poker face like that. Not a single detail of change was seen on her but the Sandaime had felt the sudden drop of temperature in the room, telling him that this girl was harboring a great hatred for the village. To hide her emotions from his critical eye was a feat on its own. She would be a devastating opponent in a political debate.

"Naruto had told you of his childhood?" He asked solemnly.

"He didn't need to. His emotional and mental state, when he first came to us, were enough for us to draw our own conclusion. When we finally managed to get a clear scope of his psychological damage entirely, the findings almost caused the demise of this village. If my spies hadn't come across the files on the Crimson Dolphin, then the most powerful of us would have decimated everyone here."

"You assume that Konoha would lose, Tendo-san. We are a village of shinobi, trained since childhood to fight and quite ready to die in battle."

"I assume nothing, Sandaime-sama. I'm sure Naruto told you the story of the Pheonix King, Saffron."

At this, the Sandaime narrowed his eyes. Naruto had told him how his Ranma-nii-chan had defeated a powerful fighter named Saffron, who has the power to destroy an entire mountain with a single strike. But the Sandaime wasn't inclined to believe such a tale like that.

But the girl in front of him seems to believe such a story had actually happened for real. And if such powers do exists, then Konoha is doomed. "Are you saying that this man, Ranma, who happens to have a water-based gender curse, was able to defeat a being of such power he was considered a god?"

"Saffron was a demi-god, not a pureblooded god. Ranma was barely seventeen when he defeated him in a battle. How much stronger do you think he had become two years later? Not only that, imagine several other people, friends and rivals alike, who had spent their entire lives training to either defeat or keep up with him fighting alongside him. I don't think Konoha will survive if a battle occurs."

The Sandaime may look calm on the outside but inside he was squirming just thinking of fighting such powerful people. He doesn't know if the woman sitting in front of him was bluffing, but he knows he couldn't risk such a thing happening to Konoha. As Hokage, the safety of the village comes first, even before his personal pride. "Very well, you wish to make a deal. As long as it doesn't affect the security of my village, I shall grant it."

"Oh, it's not much a deal as it is a warning." Nabiki said, allowing a small smirk adjourn her face. She knew she had won and could ask for much more than she originally intended but she knew Naruto holds the Sandaime Hokage in high regards so she didn't give in to her greed. Instead, she said, "In the following months, several people from my world would be arriving here in your world, particularly here in Konohagakure."

"May I ask what is the purpose of their arrival?"

"Most of them would be drawn here because of Naruto. Let's just say there's a lot of people in my world that have a certain interest in him. Others would be travelling here for their vacation, while the rest might possibly even migrate here."

"I see. Are those people that would be arriving pose a threat to this village?"

"Just as much as a threat as anyone of your own shinobi." She vaguely answered. "Most of them would be powerful fighters, that I assure you. Whether they become a threat to your village is up to you and the people of Konoha. I would be sending someone to make sure that the more impulsive members of the group stays out of trouble."

"So, you want diplomatic immunity for them?"

"Not quite. If they break the law, then you have the right to punish them for it. But you are the only one permitted to do so. I'm sure you would be fair in handling it."

"What makes you so sure of that? And what makes you so sure your people would just obey me?"

"Oh, they'll listen to you, if they don't want their ass drag all the way back to our world to receive an even more brutal punishment. Every one of them would be told that it would be up to you, to either let them stay or get thrown out of Konoha. Naruto seems to hold you in high regard, and you do have vast experience in handling subordinates that are trained since birth to be assassins of the highest caliber."

The Sandaime thought about the entire deal for a moment. He turned to look at the Hokage Monument outside while stroking his goatee. The only problem he could foresee would be from the council and the civilians. But then again, he is the Hokage and he have complete command of all shinobi in the village. And if some of those other wordly people come to migrate here, Konoha would have an extra weapon to protect them. His mind made up, he turned back to the woman and was shocked to see another person in the room.

This new person was a woman beautiful woman in a pink kimono with flowery designs. She has long black hair tied in a high ponytail. He could see that she was wearing ninja garb under her kimono if the net shirt on her neck and the metal arm bracers on her arms are any indication.

"Thank you, Konatsu-san." Nabiki said as the new girl, Konatsu, finished pouring hot tea on the cup she was holding. Nabiki turned towards him and said, "I do hope you enjoy your tea, Sandaime-sama. Konatsu-san is quite good at making them."

It was just then that the Sandaime saw the cup of steaming tea in front of him. How did this Konatsu person managed to sneak inside the office without him noticing? He tried to sense how powerful she is but he felt absolutely no chakra from her, which was impossible since every living thing should have chakra to stay alive. To hide in such a degree is extremely difficult and requires a minimum of Sannin-level skills.

Picking up his cup, he used a small amount of detection chakra to see if there was any poison in the tea. Finding none, he sipped a bit and found it quite delicious compared to everything he have tasted before. "This is quite good, Konatsu-san."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." The girl said with a slight bow and a smile.

"Tell me, how did you managed to sneak inside my office just now?" he asked calmly without a hint of threat. He was just genuinely curious.

"Oh, I have been in here since yesterday, Hokage-sama. I was ordered to prepare for Nabiki-dono's arrival." Konatsu said with a warm smile.

It was then that Nabiki decided to intervene. "Konatsu-san is the best ninja of our group and also Naruto's primary teacher in ninjutsu. She doesn't have what you people call chakra so it was possible for her to hide her presence from you. She would be our official representative here in Konoha and would be in charge of handling the newcomers since she is already well versed on your laws and culture here."

"Can you describe for me those people that would be arriving?"

"Konatsu-san would provide you with the general profiles of everyone that would be arriving. And also, since Konatsu would be migrating here in the future, it would be in the best interest of both parties to make her an official liaison officer between our worlds."

"Can I safely assume that Konatsu-san here is one of the spies you have told me about?"

"Yes and no." Nabiki said, gracing the Sandaime with a small smirk. "Konatsu-san is the _only_ spy sent here on Konoha since she alone was enough to get the job done."

"I see." The old man said. Then he asked, "Do you know of the creature that resides in him?"

"If you are talking about the Kyuubi no Kitsune, then yes. But I wouldn't worry about it much since it isn't anything we haven't handled before. He may not have complete control of it yet but he's getting there."

"What do you mean?" The Hokage asked urgently.

"It means that Naruto is learning how to control his fox persona. As of the moment, he could use one-ninth of the fox's power without reverting to his berserker mode. Konatsu will provide you with information on his general progress. If you want to know more, you would just have to ask Naruto personally." Nabiki said, dismissing the topic of the fox altogether, which the Sandaime caught on.

"Very well." The Sandaime said, "Those arriving would get the same treatment as any of my shinobi provided none of them jeopardize my village's safety and they follow the rules I will provide them with."

"Agreed, provided these rules would be subjected to my approval to prevent conflicts."

"Agreed. In the case this village would find itself in danger, they would provide assistance in defending it."

"Agreed, provided the village is not the one to start the hostilities."

"Agreed."

With a simultaneous nod from both Nabiki and the Sandaime, the deal was done.

Suddenly, the door to the closet suddenly burst open and a young man walked in saying in an aggravated tone, "Where the hell am I now?"

"Ah, Ryoga, just in time." Nabiki said to the yellow-and-black tiger-stripped bandanna wearing man, who blinked at them a couple of times.

"Ohayo, Ryoga-dono." Konatsu said politely to the newcomer.

"Oh, hey there, Konatsu. Haven't seen you in a while." The man said casually before turning towards the other girl. "Hey Nabiki. Are you done yet?"

"Just finished, Hibiki." Nabiki said as she stood up and walked towards the young man, who nodded at her and started to lead the way towards the office doors followed by the girl. But before they left, Nabiki glanced at the Sandaime saying, "Goodbye, Hokage-sama and thank you for your time. It would be a while before we see each other again. I trust you would provide Konatsu's needs until my family arrives to establish their place here in the village?"

The Sandaime nodded and said, "Of coarse, Tendo-san."

Nabiki nodded at him before turning to Konatsu and saying, "Take care of yourself, Konatsu. And try to keep Naruto out of trouble."

"Of coarse, Nabiki-dono. We both know how much he takes after Ranma-dono when it comes to attracting chaos." Konatsu said with a teasing smile, earning a snort from the two other Nerima-residents in the room.

Ryoga opened the door, but instead of the hallway, the Sandaime saw a dojo on the other side. Nabiki walked out first followed by the young man, who closed it after him. A millisecond later, the door burst open once more and three ANBU entered the office all battle ready.

"Hokage-sama! Are you alright? Your secretary had said someone had put a locking seal on your office door barring every one out." One of them said before noticing the calm Konatsu standing beside the old man. Thinking she was an enemy, they went into their battle stances.

"Stand down. Everything is fine. Konatsu-san here is a representative of a foreign village that wishes an alliance with us. You are ordered to treat her like any friendly dignitaries to our village. And please inform my secretary to set up a meeting with the shinobi representatives in all levels in three days, that is all." Seeing them suitably calmed down before they left, the Sandaime then turned towards Konatsu and said, "Would you mind pouring me another one of your marvelous tea?"

Konatsu merely smiled at him and said, "Not at all, Sandaime-sama."

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The first thing that Hinata saw when she woke up was a pair of concerned brown eyes of one Ichiraku Ayame, who smiled immediately after seeing her awake.

"Oh, Hinata-chan. I'm glad you're finally awake. Now you don't have to miss the party." Ayame said, a smile on her face.

"Party?" Hinata asked groggily as she tried to sit up from the couch she was laying on. Looking around, she saw herself in the familiar living room of the Ichiraku house. She was just about to ask how she got here when the memories of the events that happened this morning came rushing back to her: meeting a cute fox on the way out of the apartment, the Hokage Monument vandalized, turned away from the Hokage Tower, and seeing Iruka-sensei fall out of the third story window crying Naruto's name. Naruto!

She immediately turned to Ayame and asked in a hopeful voice, "D-did it r-really happened? Is, is Naruto-kun r-really . . .?"

Knowing what the stuttering Hyuuga was going to ask, Ayame gave the younger girl a huge smile and said, "Yup! He's at the front store with the others."

Hinata almost teleported herself through the house to get to the ramen store up front, which was connected to the house, followed by a smiling Ayame. She could already hear his loud and a bit angry voice from behind the door shouting, "Get back here you little furball!"

When she opened the door, she squealed startled when a little fox, with a rice ball held on its mouth, ran between her legs as if being chased by someone. And that someone just happens to be Naruto himself, who was too surprised to see her that he wasn't able to stop fast enough to avoid collision with her.

Ayame, Teuchi, and Iruka winced when both teens tumbled down the floor in a heap. They were just about to help them and ask if they were alright when they stopped upon seeing the discriminating position they ended up with.

Trying to take the impact for the both of them, Naruto had wrapped his arms around her waist so he could turn both of them around but Hinata herself reacted as well and tried to grab onto his shoulders. But when Naruto turned their body around so his back would hit the floor first, her hands slipped and ended up wrapped around his head, his face getting buried between her slightly developed breasts.

Both teens were breathing hard from the sudden rush. When both of them finally realized their some what awkward positions, both of them had stood up so fast that it would have put the Hiraishin to shame.

Ayame squealed in awe at the two blushing teens while Iruka and Teuchi both snorted with a teasing grin on their faces.

"AWE! That is so cute!" Ayame squealed once more, causing both younger teens to blush like mad.

Luckily for them, Iruka decided to be merciful and said, "I think we should go and start the feat. The food is getting cold."

Hinata and Naruto gave him appreciative looks before sitting down by the table along with the others. The little fox, who was the cause of the incident earlier, jumped up to Hinata's arms and hid itself inside her baggy jacket, where it found itself quite safe from Naruto's earlier irk.

"You'll get yours later, you mangy furball." Naruto grumbled at the little fox as he glared at it. The fox just gave him a somewhat smug response.

"So, Naruto-kun, what's the little girl's name?" Ayame asked as she scratches the fox behind the ear, earning her a purr from the little fox.

"Fuzzball." Naruto answered immediately, with a wicked smirk directed at the fox, who gave him a growl.

Ayame gave him a stern look and said, "Naruto-kun, that's not very nice."

"Fine. Fine. Her name's Naomi. She wouldn't let me name her anything else."

"N-Naomi is a v-very cute n-name." Hinata said, finally having enough courage to enter the conversation.

"I agree." Ayame said, nodding her head.

Even the fox seems to agree since it nodded her head before giving Naruto the fox-equivalent of a smug look.

Naruto bristled at that look but decided to change the subject by saying, "Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's eat!"

And as soon as Naruto's hand touched his chopsticks, ramen started to disappear from the table at an alarming rate. With the time it took Iruka to blink, four bowls of ramen have been devoured by the blond boy.

"Naruto, would you slow down!" Iruka said after a moment.

Naruto at least had the decency to blush before settling in a more subdued phase of eating. "Sorry about that. But where I've stayed at, you had to be pretty fast at eating and defending the food on your plate or else you only get leftovers."

"You mean they starve you there?" Iruka asked in rage, every else was giving him their entire attention.

"Only when either Kasumi-nee-chan or Nodoka-kaa-san weren't around. It's for speed training. And I've gotten quite good at it too."

"How good?" Ayame asked.

Naruto gave her a grin and pointed his chopsticks at Iruka's bowl, which is now empty of its contents. The look on Iruka's face had earned a round of laughter around the table.

After finishing his 50th bowl, Naruto patted his now oversized and full belly before sighing in contentment. "Damn! Ichiraku's is still the best ramen this side of the world!" He said, earning a proud grunt from Teuchi. But what he said next had crushed his former praise to dust. "It's almost as good as the one the old mummy makes."

"BLASPHEMY! NO ONE CAN RIVAL ICHIRAKU'S RAMEN!" Teuchi shouted in indignation, defending his lifetime achievement of making the best ramen in the world. He was just about to throttle this ungrateful blond boy to death but what the blond boy said next stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Tell that to the Chinese Amazons. They had this entire book of martial arts technique for cooking this stuff."

"Amazons?" Teuchi asked in a suddenly serious tone, earning some raised eyebrows, particularly from Ayame.

"Yup. From Juzetsuzuko. Most of my best techniques I learn came from them, but they're a real pain in the ass to deal with, especially when they go on about their laws." Naruto shivered a bit after saying that, reminding himself of that one particular Amazon that usually caused quite a lot of problem for him. "I'm just glad I'd be free of them for a few months before they can track me down again."

"So, the Amazons would be coming here?" Teuchi asked again, more seriously this time. He turned a glanced at his daughter before turning back to Naruto to hear his answer. The movement earned him another raised of eyebrows from the rest of them, except for Naruto, who didn't notice the seriousness of his voice.

"Them and everyone else in Nerima. They promised me they'll let me settle in first before they come." He said with relief in his voice.

"I see." Teuchi said before going silent. He saw his daughter about to question him but he shook his head meaning he would talk about it with her later. Ayame conceded but promised herself to ask as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Since that particular topic of discussion was done for the moment, Iruka decided to say, "Well, anyway, Naruto, tell us about this Nerima, it is where you've been to this last few years, right?"

"It was home." Naruto said softly with a wistful smile, earning him the raft attention of everyone in the restaurant. The next two hours was spent with Naruto retelling his tale about Nerima and his experiences in general, being interrupted from time to time so he could explain several things in detail. It was more edited version that he told to the Sandaime. It wouldn't do if his precious people suddenly sends him to a psychiatric ward for being mentally unstable. Besides, unless they see a full pledge Nerimian martial arts battle, they would not believe it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Akimichi Chouji was afraid. Why is he afraid you ask? It is because one of his childhood friends, Yamanaka Ino, was quiet. And having 'Ino' and 'quiet' in the same sentence could only mean trouble, for him and Shikamaru that is.

"Shikamaru . . ." Chouji whispered fearfully at his bestfriend, who was sitting next to Ino.

"I know. I'm scared too." Shika whispered back, being careful not to let the girl hear them. "As soon as class is over, run like hell."

Chouji could only nod in agreement. He wouldn't want to be anywhere near the girl once she decides to end the silence. They tensed instantly when they saw Mizuki-sensei was about to end the class. They were already inching towards the doors and would just need one good burst of speed to escape.

"NOW!" Shikamaru hissed as he bolted for the door along with his friend towards safety.

_**THUD! THUD!**_

At least that was the plan. It's quite difficult to run when someone got a hold of your ankle.

"Owwie!" Chouji whined with his face on the floor.

"Troublesome girl." Shikamaru added painfully.

"Guys, I need your help." Ino said, which is Ino's way of saying: You two are going to assist me in this self-proclaimed mission whether you like it or not. "Please." She said in a voice that sent shivers down both boys' spines.

The last time she used 'Please' and they didn't comply, Chouji was hospitalized for not being able to eat anything for three days while Shikamaru didn't manage to sleep for a week due to nightmares.

"Okay! Okay! Just don't hurt me! Please!" Chouji said fearfully on his knees in front of the scary girl.

"Fine. What heinous crimes are going to commit now?" Shikamaru said trying not to show any fear, and failing miserably.

Ino turned towards someone and said, "That girl with the pink hair, I know I've seen her somewhere before. I want you two to keep taps on her and gather any information you can. If either of you get caught or killed, I will deny any involvement of your actions." She said in her most official tone before turning back on the two. "Do I make . . .myself . . . clear . . . Hey!" only to realize that they were both gone. When she turned back to the girl, she bristled when she saw both of them talking to the pink haired girl.

"So, let me see if I got my facts straight, you're name is Haruno Sakura. You used to live right here in Konohagakure but you left six years ago for your apprenticeship. You came back for the Gennin Exam and that you are planning to finish your apprenticeship once you took the Chuunin Exams, right?" Shikamaru asked a bit lazily.

"Um, yeah. That's right." Sakura answered cautiously after a few moments of QandA.

"So, have you ever met an aggressive, bossy, and sometimes frighteningly scary blond haired girl with blue eyes that likes flowers?" Chouji asked immediately, earning a large sweatdrop from the said pink haired girl.

"Um, I think I remember someone like that." Sakura said, taking an involuntary step back from the two boys.

"Great!" Both boys exclaimed before disappearing, only to reappear a few seconds later with a familiar looking blond haired girl in between them.

"Ino, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Ino." Chouji said immediately.

"Yes. Enjoy." Shikamaru said to both girls before both boys started running out of the room like their lives depended on it.

Both girls blink at the cloud of dust that accumulated by their hazy retreat, both thinking, 'What the fck was that all about?'

Both girls turned towards each other looking a bit nervous, which isn't that strange since the two boys just left them right there like they were supposed to know what to do next.

"So, um, I'm Sakura." She said.

"Ino." She said shyly.

Sakura gave the girl in front of her a few inconspicuous observations. She noticed that the blond girl seems to be fidgeting every once in a while, particularly everytime she looks at her. She seems to be trying to say something but words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Being an apprentice for a medic nin, Sakura had a few lessons concerning human behavior. She gathered all the symptoms the other girl was doing and arrived at a conclusion.

"OH!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly, as well as turning several shades of red.

"What?" Ino asked nervously.

"Ah, um, I-I'm flattered, really. But, um, I'm straight." Sakura said apologetically at the other girl. "I'm sure you'll find somebody else, preferably a boy, not that I think there's anything wrong if you found another girl first. But it's just not my cup of tea."

Ino was gaping the moment the other girl's word finally sinked in. A moment later, after turning several shades of red herself, she shouted, "I AM NOT LIKE THAT!"

Suddenly, the entire room was put in silence, everyone staring at the fuming/blushing blond girl and the blushing yet confused looking pink haired girl.

"Oh." Was all Sakura could say, earning herself a blush of her own.

But Ino's anger wouldn't diminish with just a simple apology. It's just not in her nature to let someone have the last say on things. "And if I ever became like that, I'm not saying that I am, I have better taste than someone with a deformed forehead!"

"Excuse me? What do you mean by that? My forehead is not like that!" Sakura screeched.

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that." Ino said with an evil smirk.

The pink haired girl bristles at that. Taking a deep breath, she glared at the other girl before saying, "At least my parents weren't demented enough to name me pig when I was born. Or maybe they named you pig because they knew you'd end up with an attitude like that!"

"What did you say!" Ino said through clenched teeth, bringing her face close to the girl.

"What, you have a hearing problem as well?" Sakura asked just as viciously, pushing her forehead against the other girl.

"Forehead!"

"Pig!"

"FOREHEAD GIRL!"

"INO-PIG!"

Both girls suddenly gasped. They backed away and pointed a finger at each other shouting a shocked, "YOU!"

There was a tense silence as several witnesses await what could very well become one of the most vicious cat-fight in history.

"INO-PIG!"

"FOREHEAD GIRL!"

Both girl squealed in delight before giving each other an excited hug. They squealed several more times before backing away and giving each other a very huge smile.

"Where the heck have you been, Forehead Girl? I haven't seen you in, like, six years?" Ino asked excitedly to her long lost best friend.

"I had an apprenticeship to be a medic nin. I wouldn't have mind studying here but my teacher doesn't like staying in Konoha for some reason." Sakura said happily.

"That's cool! You gotta tell me all about your travels!"

"As long as you tell me everything I missed when I was away."

Both girls left the room chatting happily, leaving several confused witnesses. Two particular boys, who had been hiding behind the corner, came out of hiding blinking at the two girls' back.

"Shikamaru, what happened?" Chouji asked softly. "I'm scared."

"I don't know." The other boy said, trying to hide his own fear, and failing miserably. "But something tells me we should stay away from those two. Far, far away."

"Agreed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	4. Chapter 3

**RANMA-NARUTO XOVER**

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**CHAPTER 3  
**

Using all his ninja skills despite his injured body, Uchiha Sasuke sneaked as silently as he could towards his apartment. Trying to avoid anyone, particularly his fangirls, he tried jumping from roof to roof.

During one particular jump, his injuries suddenly flared up and he missed his step and fell in someone's yard, loudly. Groaning, he tried to get up before anyone sees him, only it was already too late.

He felt the blade of a kunai pressed dangerously close to his neck and a female voice said, "Move and you die."

He tried looking for a way out but his injuries, and the kunai on his neck pretty much made sure he aint getting out of this one.

"Release your henge and slowly take out all of your weapons." The female said. By the sound of her voice, she's much older than him. She held the blade steadily and right over the veins on his neck so she must be a seasoned chunin or higher ranked. He may have been able to get out of this mess if he isn't injured and kneeling in a position that gives him no leverage.

With everything against him in this situation, he sighed in defeat and released the henge of his normal self, showing to the world the extent of his injuries. He heard the woman gasped, took away the kunai from his neck, and said, "What happened to you?"

Sasuke turned and finally got a good look of the woman. She seems to be in her early twenties, short dark hair, and wearing a black kimono. She seems to be checking out his injuries in a way that reminded him of professional medic nins.

The woman seems to have finished her diagnostic of his injuries and pointed to the open door of the house as she said in a stern voice, "You, inside now."

The Uchiha heir gave the woman a skeptical look. Who does she think she is ordering someone like him around? When he chooses not to comply, the woman took several menacing steps towards him and grabbed him by the ear before pulling him inside the house. The Uchiha heir was too surprised and injured to make any protest.

A minute later, a disgruntled Sasuke found himself in someone's living room sitting on the couch while the dark haired woman heals his injuries with healing chakra. He was right in his assumption that the woman really is a medic nin.

Both of them have been silent for several minutes. She's concentrating on her healing while Sasuke savoring the feeling of his disappearing injuries.

After healing most of the major injuries, the woman finally said, "So, who are you and what happened to get you in such a state?"

He scoffed and said, "That's a surprise. I thought everyone already knew who I am?" When the woman gave him a glare, he finally relented and said, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I just got a bit rough at self training, that's all."

He was expecting the woman to gasp at the mere mention of his clan name. He was quite impressed when the said woman merely intensified her glare and said with sarcasm, "Riiiiiight. I would appreciate it if you would stop lying to a medic nin who knows far more about the extent of your injuries than you do at the moment. These types of injuries are clearly not self inflicted. You have several bruised ligaments, a fracture on your jaw, three cracked ribs, minor internal bleeding, broken finger bones, and third degree burns all over your body. Now, who did this to you?"

"None of your business." He huffed.

The woman sighed and sternly said, "What is it about men and their pride? Is it the testosterone or just an Uchiha thing?" When she first noticed his henge when he dropped into the yard, she thought he was a spy. When she saw that the henge was being used to hide his battered body, she realizes that he's just trying to hide his shame of being beaten by someone.

He merely gave the woman a glare and said, "Look, lady . . ."

"Shizune."

". . . I appreciate the free medical help and all but I don't owe you any explanation." He isn't usually the type to argue with anyone. He usually just huff, glare, and leave if people gets into his nerves, but the woman, whose name is Shizune, doesn't seem to be intimidated and all by his patented Uchiha glare. In fact, she's glaring right back in the same intensity.

When she was finally finished with most of his injuries, she stood up and said, "You'll heal but your entire body is still going to be a bit sore for a couple of days. Those cracked ribs and fractured jaw bone will require a hospital visit to heal completely in a few days instead of several weeks." She took a pen and paper from a nearby desk and wrote something on it. When she finished, she gave him the note and said, "These is a list of medicines you will have to get if you want to be able to spend the rest of your recovery time pain-free. Also, I expect you to stay for the night for observation."

He gave the woman an incredulous look at the last sentence and said, "What makes you think I'll spend a minute more of your abuse?" His ear is still hurting from earlier, damn it!

She gave him another glare before flicking a finger on his forehead. Sasuke was surprised when it actually hurt. She must have put chakra into it. "What makes you think I'm giving you a choice?"

"Just like that, huh? Is it a hobby for you making men spends the night at your home? What if I was a mass murderer?" Sarcasm wasn't lost in his voice.

She gave him a smug look and simply said, "Then I just have to kill you if you are."

He gave her another glare but she just glared back in the same intensity. After a minute of the staring match, Sasuke's sore body finally caught up with him and he groaned, thus being the first to blink.

Shizune merely smirked at her victory and said in a smug voice, "You're free to use the couch. If you get hungry, there's food in the fridge. My other housemates are already asleep so try not to make any ruckus." She started walking back upstairs to her room. She was already halfway up the stairs when she turned around and said, "If you're planning on skipping out on me, I'll find you, knock you out, tie you up, and I'll throw you to a pack of your most fanatic fangirls. Do I make myself clear?" The smile she was sporting was enough to assure the boy that she wasn't joking.

The Uchiha boy actually shuddered at that. He had several nightmares of that happening and he admits that it scares him more than anything. He gave her one last glare before finally sighing in defeat and said, "Fine."

Shizune gave him a smug look before heading upstairs, leaving the fuming boy on the couch.

Admitting defeat, the boy finally settled down into the couch and let himself sleep, not realizing all the trouble he would be getting into the next day.

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Yuuhi Kurenai sighs in relief upon finally seeing the gate of Konoha. Her solo month-long mission to the capital of Fire Country had been quite tedious, both physically and mentally. This is the last time she'll ever let Anko switch missions with her. Anko told her it was just a simple undercover mission. What she snake mistress failed to tell her is that the she have to be undercover as an exotic dancer for a high class brothel. So for the next month, she not only needs to gather information, but she had to do it while showing her half-naked body to rich perverted old men.

Sure she wasn't new to this type of missions. But the thing that got her blood boiling is the reception she got when she told her contact, a certain owner of the brothel. He keeps whining about no one, especially her, could ever top Anko's exotic snake dance routine that usually brings home the cash cow.

Proving the creep wrong, she used every trick in the kunoichi seduction course, as well as a few made up on the spot routines, to give the most seductive exotic dance in front of so many rich perverted old men.

For the next month, she had to come up with new ways to ensnare the attention of those perverted old men or else the creep would just whine again and say Anko could have done better.

Sure, she made enough money t buy three moderate size house over but that wasn't the point. When she found out it wasn't a mission at all but just Anko needing to pay off some sake-debts, she almost killed the creep. Lucky for him, doubling her pay for the entire month was enough to placate her.

Come to think of it, she suddenly feels like foregoing her trip home to hunt down a certain snake mistress for a whole month of humiliation. With renewed vigor, she started walking purposely towards Anko's apartment, only to bump into said person after a few blocks.

"Anko!" She snarled at the drunk and swaying woman already preparing to throttle her.

"Kurenai-chan! What are you doing here? Buy me dango!" Anko, meanwhile, seems to miss the killing intent directed at her due to being drunk.

Kurenai would have started seriously maiming the other woman if it wasn't for the voice of the man who was holding the snake mistress upright. "Now, now, Anko-san, Yuuhi-san seems to have just returned from a mission so she must be tired. And also, you already had your fill of dangos and sake earlier so we need to get you home and sleep it off." He said, wincing at the thought of his depleted wallet. Anko had dragged him to her favorite dango bar when she saw him walking home from Ichiraku.

Anko merely pouted and hiccupped as she said, "Would you tuck me into bed, Iruka-kun? You could be my new pillow!"

Iruka, who Kurenai finally recognized, merely shook his head and said, "I'm sure you have a perfectly good pillow in your house to use." He then turned to address the other woman. "Good evening, Yuuhi-san. You seem a bit tired. How was your mission?"

She could smell the liquor on both their breath but Iruka seems to be only a bit tipsy. "It was fine, Iruka-san. And the mission, which Anko should have done herself, was fine." She said, a bit of blush appearing on her face at the thought of the said 'mission'.

"Oh, what is it about?" He asked politely.

"Oh! I know that mission! I could tell you all about it, Iruka-kun!" Anko suddenly blurted.

Kurenai panicked and suddenly took the drunk Anko from Iruka's arms and bolted away while saying, "I'll take Anko home. Thanks for everything Iruka-san!"

Iruka merely look on in confusion at the retreating women. He never knew Kurenai could run so fast.

"I would appreciate it if you don't spread that around!" Kurenai hissed at her fiend, who merely gave her a mischievous grin.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Kurenai-chan. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy having men eat out from the palms of your sexy hands? I bet Asuma would have given up an arm and a leg if he could see you like that."

Kurenai huffed and blushed as she hissed again, "That's not the point!"

Anko pouted and said, "You're so mean, Kurenai-chan. If you don't loosen up I'll have Iruka's brat prank you. So there."

"Who?"

"The Uzumaki kid, of course. Didn't you know? He came back today."

Kurenai was actually glad at the news. She had gotten to know Uzumaki Naruto from an unexpected source, namely the ANBU codenamed Dolphin. He had personally asked her to make an entirely new genjutsu where the victim would experience, first hand, all the abuse and rough treatment the Uzumaki boy had ever experience since birth. To do that, he had provided her with all documents detailing the incidents involve concerning the said boy. She almost went into a killing spree after reading the first three pages alone. It took Dolphin and the Hokage physically restraining her just to stop her.

She had never worked more passionately that next few weeks. She poured all her knowledge as a genjutsu mistress into that genjutsu and made sure it would have a lasting effect on the victim, just like Dolphin wanted.

"Anyway, that's why I manage to drag Iruka-kun to the bar. I was planning to get him drunk and have my wicked ways with him but he cheated and didn't got drunk at all. I mean, who knew a school teacher could hold his liquor _that_ much."

Kurenai nodded. ANBU are trained to control their metabolism to resist poisons and alcohol in their bodies. Anko is no slouch either when it comes to drinking but she have a nasty habit of stopping herself. Iruka must have forced her to stop since Anko is still coherent enough to speak clearly.

Anyway, she would like to meet this Uzumaki Naruto in person. She already knew him through the files Dolphin provided but she would still like to meet him in the flesh. Besides, according to his file, she's a good friend of her future genin, Hyuuga Hinata.

"Did you know Iruka-kun have such firm butts? I tried pinching them again but he always manages to avoid me after the first time." Anko pouted at that before giggling like a school girl.

Kurenai knows her friend was too drunk to realize the words coming out of her mouth so she made sure to remember them for future teasing and blackmail usage. She blushed when Anko went into details what she would have like to do to a certain school teacher right there on the classroom desk.

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"Okay, dad, fess up. What is it about Chinese Amazons that got you so spooked?" Ayame demanded to her father as soon as everyone else had left.

Teuchi merely sighs and walk into the backroom, only to return a few minutes later with a dusty beautiful wooden ornamental box. Ayame gasped upon seeing the name engraved at the side. "Mom?"

Teuchi nodded opened the box. Inside was a pair of beautifully crafted metallic 20 inches chopsticks and a broken hand mirror. "Yes, Ayame, these belonged to your mother. She told me once that these are her last connection to her home country."

Ayame was in awe. The last time she had laid eyes on these magnificent chopsticks was in the hands of her mother as she performs several acrobatic stunts as she prepares ramen for her. She was merely three years old when her mother passed away so she could barely remember all those training games they used to play. But upon seeing those chopsticks again brought all those memories back to the surface.

"M-mother." She said in remembrance, tears already forming in her eyes, slowly taking the chopsticks from the box. She held them firmly and securely in her right hand just like her mother taught her all those years ago.

"I'm glad Lo Xiun hasn't really been lost to us all those years ago." Came the sudden voice behind them.

Both father and daughter twirled around in surprise, Ayame unconsciously putting herself in a stance her mother had taught her. They were surprised when they saw a long haired man wearing a white long sleeved Chinese robe, blue baggy pants, black shoes, and coke bottled glasses.

"Who are you?" Teuchi asked in a threatening manner, a pair of frying pans in his hands.

The man merely raised his eyebrow and eyed them both before bowing. "Forgive my intrusions. My name is Mu Tsu, emissary of Jusetsuzuko."

Both Konoha citizens eyed the man warily and Teuchi asked, "What proof do you have that shows you are who you say you are?"

Mu Tsu, or rather Mouse, merely smirked, pulled up his left sleeve, and showed them a small intricate tattoo on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Teuchi immediately put away his weapons, pull up his left sleeve to show his identical tattoo, and bowed formally to the man before saying, "I welcome you to my home and generosity, Honored Guest. Allow this honorary Amazon to aid you in your quest."

Mouse bowed in return and said formally, "On behalf of Josetsuzuko, I thank you for your generosity. May the Goddess Hectate guide us and protect us in this small part of the Amazon Nation."

Now that the formality is over and done with, Mouse eyed Ayame once again before a smirk found its way on his lips as he said, "Your grip on your weapon is good. But your stance needs a lot of work."

Hearing these, Ayame gave him a glare and huffed in annoyance.

Minutes later, the three of them could be found inside the Ichiraku family's living room. Both men are sitting across each other while Ayame grumpily serve them tea. She's still in the dark on what's going on so she kept her mother's weapon close to her just in case.

"So, Teuchi-san, may I inquire how you defeated Lo Xiun in battle. From your reaction earlier, you don't seem to have a much grasp in any formal training of any kind. I was told that Lo Xiun had been a formidable warrior before her disappearance years ago." Mouse asked politely, earning the sudden interests of Ayame, who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

Teuchi laughed heartily at that and said, "You're right about that one. She gave me one hell of a beating upon waking up and finding herself naked in my ramen yattai. She didn't believe me when I told her I found her unconscious, beaten, and wet at the side of the road a few days earlier. She demanded I tell her where are her fellow sisters and the beast men that ambushed them. Lucky for me she still had a high fever then so she passed out before she could beat me up more. She was a bit calmer when she woke up again a few hours later and had given her the clothes and items I found with her."

Mouse nodded and eyed the broken mirror on the table between them. "Ah, yes. The Nanban Mirror." _'This one seems to be the one capable of transport to other dimensions.' _He thought. "Lo Xiun must have accidentally used it to escape the ambush by the Musk during its transport from another village. I am familiar with the incident since my wife's mother has been one of the casualties of the said incident."

"I see. Anyway, as soon as I gave her the mirror, she started crying on it. It didn't do what she wanted it to do so she went a bit hysterical and started destroying everything in sight, which includes my yattai. Of coarse I couldn't let her do that so I tried to stop her. When that didn't work, I finally have to hit her in the head with a frying pan to knock her out cold."

"Did she kissed you and declared you her Airen when she woke up again?"

Teuchi chuckled and said, "Heck no! She beat me up so bad the next day I was limping for a week. She started treating me as if I'm her slave for a few days until she realized she isn't anywhere near her home and no one can fix her mirror. She went to a bit of a depression stage for a week until I started insulting her so she could be pissed at me until she beats me up." At this, the old man have gotten a nostalgic look on is face. No doubt it was one of his fondest memories. "I ended up black and blue for a few months since I keep trying to piss her off every time she went into depression. But then, each time that happens, her hits starts getting lighter, the beatings shorter, until finally, she just stops and told me if I don't fight back, she will kill me. I refused and ran as she chased me around for a couple of hours until I accidentally smashed her face with the same frying fan I hit her with when we first met. Imagine my surprise when she kissed me the next day and called me her Airen. Of coarse, when I asked her what it means, she wouldn't tell me until a few years later during our marriage."

Ayame silently sobbed a bit. She has never heard this story before on how her parents met.

Teuchi continued and said, "After that, we spent a couple of months on the road as a traveling ramen restaurant as she teaches me about her people's way and the proper way to make ramen. A year later Ayame was born so we decided to settle down here in Konoha. When we bought this land, she told me it's now a little piece of the Amazon Nation. And I intend to honor that."

Mouse nodded and said, "I see. Once again I thank you for your hospitality. I have been in the village for a couple of days now as a silent bodyguard for Naruto-san. You're reaction upon hearing about the Amazons have gotten my curiosity so I decided to show myself. I am glad I did."

"You are welcome. But what is your connection with Naruto-kun?"

"I am among the people that he had lived with during his time away from here. Also, I am partly his teacher, training partner, and soon-to-be brother Amazon, if Rin-Rin finally manages to catch him." He said the last part with a smirk.

"Kiss of marriage?" Teuchi asked before laughing heartily at his guest's nod.

"Anyway, I was also ordered by an elder to establish a base of operation here in Konoha for their arrival. I was already thinking of opening up a new ramen stand but since an Amazon have already got one here, I am thinking of allowing me to help you expand your stand into a true restaurant, as well as giving you the deeds to the land surrounding your stand that I am planning to purchase."

Both father and daughter gasped at that and Teuchi said, "Sold!" only to be smack in the head by metallic chopsticks.

Ayame huffed at her groaning father before glaring at Mouse and saying, "I am sorry but the Icharakus doesn't accept charity."

Mouse merely smirked at the girl and said, "You have the Amazon Pride but I assure you what I am doing is no charity but duty. It is customary for our tribe to expand any and all Amazon lands outside of Jusetsuzuko. It is our way to ensure unity, loyalty, and communication among fellow Amazons outside our homeland. Like your mother said before, this land is now a little piece of the Amazon Nation. It would be in the tribe's best interest not only to make it a bit bigger, but also secure for future Amazons that may come here looking for sanctuary."

Ayame boggled at that, particularly when her mother was mentioned. But she did see the practicality of his statement. And he's right, it isn't charity but duty.

Mouse then said to both Ichiraku, "Anyway, it is also a duty of the visiting Amazon to gauge the skills of his or her hosts to insure their skills are not lacking. Both of you are already familiar with the basics but you still have a long way to go. Training starts tomorrow."

Both father and daughter shivered at the smile their guest have on his face. If their guess is true, both would be hurting for quite a while.

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Hinata sighed in relief as she let herself sink into the warm water of the furo. After two years of waiting, her Naruto-kun is finally back. And now, he was just outside in his room, unpacking his stuff.

She smiled at that, already imagining all the things they could do together. Maybe she could even catch him with his shirt off in the near future since they are living together in the same apartment. She blushed at that and shook her head to get rid of the perverted thoughts.

Her daydreaming was halted suddenly when she heard the door to the furo opening. She squeaks thinking it was Naruto-kun. She was a bit disappointed upon seeing Naomi the fox walking towards her.

"Um, h-hello, Naomi-chan. Is something wrong?" She asked.

Instead of answering, the fox merely jumped into the furo, only to be replaced by a young, red haired, red eyed, buxom, and very naked little girl.

For several seconds, both naked girls merely stared at each other silently. Until the little girl, who seems to be eight years old, suddenly sported a huge smile, shouted, "Hinata-chan!", and grabbed her in a bear hug.

Not knowing what had happened, Hinata did the first thing that came into her mind.

"EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Naruto, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, crashed through the door asking, "What's wrong? What happened?" only to stop short upon seeing Hinata's naked form trying to push another naked girl away from her.

Both pre teens stared at each other in shock. Naruto never knew Hinata was an early bloomer, as evident by her slightly larger than normal chests. Hinata on the other hand, couldn't stop the full body blush she's sporting seeing her Naruto-kun in just boxer shorts. This was much better than imagining him shirtless!

The little girl, seeing both preteens merely staring silently at each other for several minutes now, suddenly got a mischievous look on her face as she grab one of Hinata's exposed boobs and gave it a squeeze, eliciting a moaned gasped from Hinata.

Seeing this, Naruto's brain finally reached its boiling point. Blood sprouted from his nose before passing out right there and then.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted, her concern over riding her embarrassment as she quickly got off the furo to check on the passed out boy.

After a few seconds, Naruto regained consciousness only to be greeted by a close up of the very same objects that caused him to pass out in the first place. Upon seeing them mere inches from his face, he sprouted more blood from his nose before passing out again, this time sporting a perverted smile on his lips.

Hinata, finally realizing their position and state of undress, squeaked and passed out as well, falling on top of Naruto.

The little girl on the furo merely shook her head and sighed saying, "Both of you are hopeless."

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_**THE NEXT DAY**_:

"Ah, um, l-look, H-Hinata-chan, I-I know I should have told you about Naomi yesterday but I guess I k-kinda forgot." Naruto said with a blush, still avoiding looking anywhere near the girl who is currently sitting in front of him, the sight of her naked last night still fresh in his mind.

Hinata, on the other hand, was doing the same thing. Just thinking about her Naruto-kun wearing only boxers keeps giving her a full body blush. And her erotic dreams last night didn't help matters either. "I-It's o-okay. I-I m-mean, w-we were quite b-busy last with the party y-yesterday."

Silence reigned once more in the Uzumaki dining room, except for the loud slurping of the little girl eating ramen between them. Neither pre-teen wanted to look at the other in fear of seeing the other blush.

Naomi didn't seem to care for anything except for food at the moment that is until she finished and said, "More please!"

The tense atmosphere suddenly disappeared and they turned to look at the smiling Naomi holding her empty rice bowl towards Hinata.

It was just then that Naruto noticed all the food were gone and he glared at the little girl and said, "Naomi you brat! You didn't leave anything for us!"

The little girl Naomi merely huffed and said, "Hey, it was your own fault for not noticing." Then she smirked and said, "I'm not the one who keeps thinking about each other naked, now am I?"

At that, both pre teens blushed once more and look anywhere but each other.

Naruto shook his head away from those incoming perverted thoughts before saying, "Anyway, Hinata-chan, this here is Naomi. Yes she is the same fox from yesterday but she got a curse that turns her into a girl."

Breathing deeply to shake away her own perverted thoughts, she asks, "H-How? I mean, is she really a fox or a girl?"

"I'm both really. The curse just forces me in a form I could have turned to on my own." She said sagely, before glaring at Naruto and saying, "That is if the fool there wouldn't be so stingy with my chakra!"

Naruto merely smirk and said, "It's my chakra now and I can be stingy with it as much as I want."

Naomi was gritting her teeth before another mischievous look came to her face. She then turned to Hinata with teary eyes and said, "Hinata-onee-chan, Naruto-onii-chan is being mean to me!" Then she started to sniff.

Such action brought forth all those motherly instincts from inside Hinata and soon enough she was hugging the little crying girl trying t make her feel better. "Now, now, Naomi-chan, it's alright. I'm sure Naruto didn't mean it, didn't you, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto would have said yes he did but the disappointed look Hinata gave him stopped him dead in his tracks. It's like a patented Kasumi-Disappointed-In-You stare now that he thinks about it. And no one, absolutely no one, can resist a patented Kasumi-Look.

He finally sighed in defeat before saying, "Of coarse not, Hinata-chan. I would never do that to the fuzzball, um I mean Naomi-chan."

Seeing that she won this round, Naomi gave him a nasty smirk behind Hinata's back and said, "Aren't you two supposed to be in the academy right now?"

Both pre teens gasped at that. Looking at the clock hanging by the wall, they saw that they only have a few minutes before class starts.

"Oh Kami we're late!" Both teens said as they run out the door. Naomi, now alone, merely went to the kitchen to get more food. Maybe he could bother Naruto again later. But first food, then a nap.

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Haruno Sakura woke up stretching her limbs to take out the knots in her muscle tissues. She groggily went downstairs to the bathroom. Upon arriving at the living room, she heard someone snoring on the couch. Thinking it was just her mother again, she didn't paid whoever it is any mind and went straight to the bathroom.

As soon as she was there, she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste. Absently pouring a few amount of paste in her brush, she put it in her mouth and went back to the living room to wake her mother up.

Imagine her surprise when instead of seeing he mother, she saw a young boy sleeping there. Female reflexes kicking in, she did the first thing that came into her mind.

"EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The sudden scream woke Sasuke right out of bed and standing there in a defensive stance with kunai on both hands. It took him a few seconds to adjust his eye sights. When he finally did, he saw a young pink haired girl with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth behind the couch looking at him in shock.

A few seconds later, the same black haired woman from last night came down the stairs holding a chakra scalpel in her hands. She was soon followed by a gorgeous pink haired yawning woman wearing nothing but a pink see through negligee and panties, nothing else.

"What's all the –yawn- ruckus about?" the pink haired woman asked, still groggy from sleep.

"MOTHER! STOP PRANCING AROUND THE HOUSE HALF NAKED AND CVER YOURSELF! THERE'S A MAN IN THE HOUSE!" Sakura shouted in shock.

Haruno Suiren merely stared at her daughter for a moment before turning towards the still shocked Uchiha boy. She then turned back to her daughter and gave her a mischievous smirk before saying, "As if you could talk, Sakura-chan."

It was just then that Sakura finally realize that she was only wearing her panties and a large shirt that barely reaches her thighs and nothing else. It was also showing a bit of her shoulders. Mortified, she turned to look at the three people looking at her. When her eyes turned towards the only male in the room, she saw her staring at her with a blush on his cheeks.

Mortified, she let her female instincts kicked in and shouted in mortification before bashing the still confused Uchiha boy in the face as hard as she could. Luckily, she wasn't able to use her Tsunade-like strength or the boy would have been a smear on the wall rather than unconscious.

Seeing this, Suiren merely laugh at her daughter's embarrassment and went back upstairs. Shizune, on the other hand, merely sighed in defeat and tried placating the blushing pink haired girl.

Shizune should really apologize to the boy since she was the one who told her to stay. But then again, maybe being beaten by a girl his age in a single punch would knock his ego down a few pegs.

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A/N: Sorry it took me a while but this story is still pretty much alive and kicking.


End file.
